TERENGGANU Umno chairman and ex-menteri besar Ahmad Said said the right person for the Kemaman parliamentary constituency would be willing to devote his time and energy to ensure all issues affecting the people there were brought to Dewan Rakyat for discussion.  

He was confident that Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Raja Mohamed Affandi Raja Mohamed Noor not only met that criterion but would represent the people of Kemaman and its four state constituencies in the best possible way. 

The former Kijal assemblyman also questioned whether PAS’ candidate for the by-election, the Terengganu Menteri Besar Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, would be able to do so based on his track record. 

“The duties of menteri besar have kept him busy, so imagine holding an additional position of member of parliament. He was not even in the country when Terengganu was hit by floods for two consecutive years. 

“The menteri besar will not be able to look after Kemaman and the four state constituencies in Kemaman. If he can’t look after his state constituency (Ru Rendang), how can he do so for other constituencies,” he said.  

The Kemaman by-election on December 2 sees a one-on-one clash between former chief of defence Raja Mohamed Affandi and Ahmad Samsuri. 

Unlike PAS, BN has taken an unprecedented approach in fielding a former top government official as its direct candidate, said Ahmad Said. 

“It has never happened before; he was one of the top five in Malaysia; this is the first time he has been given the opportunity to contest and he accepted the challenge. 

“We want the people of Kemaman to choose us this time to represent one of the eight parliamentary constituencies in Terengganu. Here’s a question for Kemaman voters: with eight parliament seats currently held by PAS, what have the people gained?” he asked. – Bernama, November 22, 2023.