Slim chance for BN in Permatang Pauh: Dr M

KUALA LUMPUR: Barisan Nasional’s (BN) chances of winning in the Permatang Pauh by-election looks slim, as the majority of voters there are staunch supporters of jailed Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, said former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
He said these voters will support the candidate nominated by Pakatan Rakyat without thinking of the consequences.
“Where Anwar used to be, it is extremely difficult. They have fanatics there, people who don’t care about reality, for the truth, but they support blindly,” said Mahathir when met by reporters at a forum titled “Engaging the young to criminalise war and energise peace” held at the Putra World Trade Centre today.
The by-election is being held following Anwar’s disqualification as Permatang Pauh MP after his family’s application for a royal pardon against his five-year jail term was rejected by the pardons board.
The Election Commission has set April 25 for nominations and May 7 for polling.
However, Mahathir is optimistic that BN would retain the Rompin parliamentary seat in the coming by-election there, which came about following the death of incumbent Tan Sri Jamaluddin Jarjis in a helicopter crash on April 4.
Jamaluddin has held the post since 1990.
“In Rompin, I think support for BN is still there. It will be interesting to (see) the margin achieved this time,” he said.
Nomination day for the Rompin by-election has been set for April 22 and polling day is on May 5.
In the last general election, BN won the seat with a 15,114-vote majority.
BN recently announced Rompin Umno division acting head Datuk Hasan Arifin as its candidate in the by-election.