TERENGGANU needs to have an elected representative who is aligned with the federal government to carry out checks and balances, and bring the voice of the people in the state to the federal level more effectively.

Umno vice-president Johari Abdul Ghani said this can be realised if Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Raja Mohamed Affandi Raja Mohamed Noor wins the Kemaman by-election on December 2.

“We need checks and balances in the state (Terengganu) because there are no representatives from the federal government in both the state assembly and parliament.

“Sometimes there are issues that we want to raise in parliament, and we work with many members of parliament, but we don’t have any from Terengganu. If we get one (seat), this is good because we can work together to raise issues in parliament, and when there is a budget tabling, we can raise critical problems,” he said.

He said this to reporters after a walkabout with Raja Affandi at Kampung Bakau Tinggi, Chukai, today.

The by-election will see a straight fight between Raja Affandi and Terengganu Menteri Besar Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar representing PAS.

On the by-election campaign trail, Johari, who is also the Titiwangsa MP, praised Raja Affandi’s approach of meeting the people, saying it was well received by Kemaman constituents.

“I see that Tan Sri’s (Raja Affandi) approach is very good, they can accept it, they don’t regard him as a pure politician. He is the former chief of the defence forces but one who is very down to earth, we can place trust in him to raise the issues faced in Terengganu,” he said. – Bernama, November 25, 2023.