PUTRAJAYA, June 7 — The name of the candidate to be fielded by the unity government in the upcoming Sungai Bakap state by-election in Penang will be announced next week.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is also Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman and PKR president, said he had asked PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli to pick a suitable date to announce and introduce the government’s candidate for the by-election.

"We have a list of qualified candidates. Insya-Allah, the name (of the one selected) will be announced next week,” he told reporters after joining about 5,000 congregants in performing Friday prayers at Sultan Abdul Samad Mosque here today.

Anwar said the name of the candidate would be finalised at a meeting among unity government leaders soon.

When asked whether the candidate would be from PKR, Anwar said: "As proposed so far, yes, but we will finalise it at the meeting.”

Yesterday, the Election Commission (EC) set the polling day for the Sungai Bakap state by-election in Penang on July 6, while the nomination and early voting were set for June 22 and July 2 respectively.

The Sungai Bakap state seat fell vacant following the death of incumbent Nor Zamri Latiff on May 24 at the Intensive Care Unit (ICU) of the Hospital Seberang Jaya (HSJ). The 56-year-old assemblyman was admitted to the hospital due to an inflammation of the stomach.

The Sungai Bakap by-election will be the eighth by-election held after the 15th General Election in November 2022. — Bernama