KUALA LUMPUR, April 13 — PAS announced today its full support for PKR’s candidate in the run-up to the Permatang Pauh by-election, setting aside temporarily the disagreements plaguing the three-party Pakatan Rakyat (PR) opposition pact.
Its deputy president Mohamad Sabu said the Islamist party will help PKR in the by-election campaign even though the candidate has yet to be formally announced.
“Whoever is it from PKR, we will support,” he said in a press conference at the party’s headquarters here.
PAS vice-president, Datuk Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, echoed Mohamad’s view.
“We would not touch that seat. It belongs to PKR. We will also extend our help to them during the campaigning time,” Tuan Ibrahim said.
PKR is almost certain to field its president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail in the Penang federal seat for the May 7 by-election, though officially they will hold a meeting this week before seeking the endorsement from their PR partners PAS and DAP.
The Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat fell vacant after Anwar was disqualified when his petition for a royal pardon for his conviction was rejected by the Pardons Board.
He was jailed five years on February 10 when his appeal to the Federal Court against his sodomy conviction was dismissed.
Permatang Pauh is a stronghold of PKR, which has held the seat for 17 years since Anwar’s first incarceration in 1998.
The Election Commission (EC) has fixed April 25 for nominations and May 7 for polling.
