KUALA LUMPUR, June 15 — After three terms, Hulu Kelang assemblyman Saari Sungib will reportedly not defend his seat in the upcoming state election due to his illness.
The Selangor Parti Amanah Negara deputy chief was reported saying he has been suffering from Parkinson's disease and would not be seeking re-election.
“I have told the party leadership,” he was quoted saying by Free Malaysia Today.
He claimed that his illness now may be linked to his suffering during his time as a two-year detainee under the Internal Security Act 1960 some 20 years ago.
Saari was detained twice — first for 15 days in October 1998 and then for over two years from 2001 until 2003.
The controversial Act had allowed for detention without trial and was abolished in 2012.
Saari, who first won the seat in 2008 under Islamist party PAS, held the Hulu Kelang seat in 2013 and later 2018 when he left PAS to form Amanah.
In 2018, Saari won with a 15,349-vote majority over Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Ismail Ahmad.
BN is now part of the Selangor state government with Pakatan Harapan, mirroring its federal arrangement.
He declined to comment on an earlier report by FMT that the party may field its secretary-general Datuk Dr Hatta Ramli in the seat instead.
“I hope that the voters of Hulu Kelang continue to get the services of a clean and reform-oriented leader,” he was quoted saying.
Selangor is among six states which will hold their state elections soon. The others are Penang, Negeri Sembilan, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu.
