KUALA LUMPUR: Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia will not be contesting in the upcoming Chini by-election, its newly-appointed secretary-general Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin said.
Instead, he said Bersatu will give its full support to the Barisan Nasional candidate who will be representing the Perikatan Nasional government.
"This decision was made to provide full support to the candidate who will be chosen by BN to represent PN.
"All of Bersatu machinery will be activated to ensure the victory of PN's representative," he said in a statement today.
The Chini state assembly seat fell vacant following the death of Datuk Seri Abu Bakar Harun, 60. He died at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital from a heart attack, shortly after experiencing breathing difficulties and collapsing.
In the last general election, Abu Bakar defended the Chini state seat with a 4,622-vote majority while Pas candidate Mohd Fadhil Noor Abdul Karim received 5,405 votes and Mohamad Razali Ithnain from PKR only obtained 1,065 votes.
The Election Commission has set nomination day on June 20, early voting on June 30 and polling on July 4 with a 14-day campaign period.