KANGAR, Nov 2 — While the political parties announced their candidates for the 15th general election (GE15) for the state of Perlis yesterday, Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Warisan have left the Arau parliamentary seat vacant.
At the announcement ceremony of Barisan Nasional (BN) candidates yesterday, the incumbent Arau MP Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim who is also a BN political figure in Perlis was however not listed to defend the seat.
Right after that, Shahidan reportedly claimed to have received “proposals” from PN and Warisan to contest in GE15 and expressed his desire to continue contesting in Arau.
Perlis PN chairman Mohd Shukri Ramli said he had informed the leadership of PAS and central PN about Shahidan’s intention to run for the seat.
According to Mohd Shukri who is also Perlis PAS commissioner, Shahidan is one of the candidates proposed for the Arau seat in addition to several other names that were also submitted for consideration.
“We at the state level can only propose candidates for the Arau parliamentary seat, but the decision can only be made at the highest level of the coalition party,” he told Bernama here today.
Perlis Bersatu chief Abu Bakar Hamzah said Bersatu and PN at the state level have no objection to accept Shahidan if the leadership accepts the political figure to help PN capture Perlis and Putrajaya.
“What is important is that we (PN) want to win in Perlis and at federal level,” he said.
Meanwhile, Warisan Perlis chairman Datuk Abdul A’zib Saad said Warisan has not yet made any decision regarding the candidate for the Arau parliamentary seat and would observe the development in the state first.
“I have contacted Warisan president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal, he told me to wait and see what this development is like, and he needs to make certain considerations at the last minute,” he said. — Bernama
