Undeterred by raid, doctor mulls contesting in by-election

PERMATANG PAUH: Former independent candidate Dr Abdullah Zawawi Samsudin, who contested the Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat in the last general election, is mulling contesting in the upcoming by-election for the parliamentary seat again.
He said this at a press conference held to highlight a raid by Health Department personnel on his clinic on Monday night.
"Should I be treated like this just because I was a former independent candidate for Permatang Pauh?
"I am extremely disappointed but I am not afraid, I might contest again in (Permatang Pauh)", he said.
Abdullah Zawawi, who has been operating his clinic here since 2000, said his clinic management system, which consisted of patient data, was also taken away by the authorities.
"I have been harassed and treated like a criminal; this action has affected my source of income", he said.
He also questioned the excessive force taken by the health authorities during the raid and whether the action taken was to intimidate him not to contest in the by-election.
The 47-year-old medical practitioner contested against Parti Keadilan Rakyat de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and Dr Mazlan Ismail from Barisan Nasional and lost his deposit during last general election by obtaining only 201 votes.
In the 2013 general election, Anwar won the seat with a 11,721 majority.
When contacted, state health department director Datuk Dr Zailan Adnan declined to comment on the raid conducted on Monday.
"The Private Medical Practice Control Unit from the Health Department did a raid on the said premises but I can't comment further because it has legal implications", she said.