Rompin by-election: Straight fight between BN, PAS

KUALA ROMPIN: It's a straight fight between two locals - Barisan Nasional candidate Datuk Hasan Arifin, 62, and PAS youth chief , Nazri Ahmaf, 40, - for the Rompin Parliamentary seat.
The straight fight was announced after the Election Commission rejected the nomination papers of independent candidate Mohd Shukri Mohd Ramli.
Shukri,44, a blogger from Pahang, said his application was rejected as he had campaigned before the nomination day.
"I am dissatisfied with EC as they had called me the night before nomination day asking me not to come to the nomination center to submit my form," Shukri said when met outside the nomination center here.
Shukri was believed to have had an interview with TV3 to promote himself as an independent candidate before the nomination day.
Shukri was an independent candidate for Semambu state seat in the 13 General Elections(GE13), where he garnered only 880 votes in a three corner fight between PKR candidate Lee Chian Chung and MCA's Pang Tsu Ming.
However, Election Commission chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof denied the claims made by Shukri.
Abdul Aziz said Shukri's application was rejected as he has not submitted the 'expenditure statement' during his Semambu campaign.
In Pahang, he added, there were eight people who contested in state seats and four who contested for Parliament seats have yet to submit their expenditure statement, and this included Shukri.
According to Abdul Aziz, the failure to submit the statement is an offence under the Election Offences Act 1954.
"(Under the Act) the offenders could not be a candidate for 5 years after its (statement) submission unless if they've receive a pardon from the high court,"Abdul Aziz said.
Meanwhile, Hasan who is Rompin Umno Division acting chief and Nazri, a relatively new face, will be the focus for the 53,294 voters as to whom among them they want as their MP.
They were confirmed to be eligible to contest by Returning Officer, Datuk Fadzilla Salleh after the nomination, which was held at Sultan Haji Ahmad Shah Silver Jubilee Hall here, was closed this morning.
The Rompin Parliamentary seat fell vacant following the death of incumbent Tan Sri Dr Jamaluddin Jarjis who died in a helicopter crash on April 4.
Hasan, born in Kampung Ayau, Leban Chondong here, is a former Tioman and Bukit Ibam State Assemblyman for four terms from 1990 besides a state executive councillor of Pahang and deputy Menteri Besar from 1995 until 1999.
A bachelor of economics degree holder from the University of Malaya, he joined Umno in 1976 and held the divisional youth chief's post in 1984 and became Rompin Umno Division chief from 1990 to 2004.
Nazri, a son of a Felda settler in Keratong 5 near here started his political career in 2005 when he became Rompin PAS Youth Chief.
The part-time lecturer of the Muadzam Shah Mara Junior Science College is a Master's degree holder in Syariah Islamiyyah from the Al-Azhar University in Egypt.