KUALA LUMPUR, July 23 — The decision by PAS to not field its candidate in the Sungai Kandis state by-election was made after conducting a study on voter demographics in the constituency.

Its deputy president Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man also stressed that the decision not to contest in the by-election was not influenced by any party including Umno and Barisan Nasional.

"The decision was made based on of the voter demographics in the constituency. The issue of cooperation with Umno should not have come up. We have issued a statement saying that PAS will not help Umno in the Sungai Kandis by-election.

"The party activities in Sungai Kandis continue as usual... we are doing work just for our party,” he said when met at the Parliament lobby today.

He said this in response to a statement by Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad on Saturday who described PAS and Umno as ‘siblings’ after PAS chose not to field a candidate for the Sungai Kandis by-election on Aug 4. — Bernama