Anwar's former aide Saiful Bukhari to contest PD polls

PORT DICKSON: Former personal assistant to Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, Mohd Saiful Bukhari Azlan (pix) has confirmed that he will contest in the by-election in Port Dickson.
Mohd Saiful Bukhari, 33, said he will submit his nomination papers at the Port Dickson Municipal Council Hall (MPPD) today.
"I have paid the deposit to contest," he said when contacted here last night.
With the announcement, Mohd Saiful Bukhari is the sixth individual to contest in the seat besides Anwar.
So far, candidates who are contesting in the by-election are retired Lieutenant Colonel Mohd Nazari Mokhtar representing PAS, Ahmad Kamarudin (Parti Rakyat Malaysia) and former Negri Sembilan mentri besar Tan Sri Isa Abdul Samad and social media personality Stevie Chan Keng Leong who are contesting as independent candidates.
Meanwhile, Mohd Saiful Bukhari denied receiving any "sponsorship" to contest in the by-election
"I will elaborate on the decision to compete in a press conference after the nomination process," he said.
The Port Dickson parliamentary seat was vacated by incumbent Datuk Danyal Balagopal Abdullah, 68, on Sept 12 to facilitate PKR president-elect Anwar's return to Parliament.
In the 14th General Election on May 9, Danyal Balagopal won the seat with a comfortable majority of 17,710 votes defeating Barisan Nasional candidate Datuk V.S Mogan and Mahfuz Roslan from PAS. — Bernama