GEORGE TOWN: The Penang unity pact has agreed to field a candidate from PKR to contest the upcoming Sungai Bakap by-election.
Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow, who heads the Penang unity pact, today said the decision was unanimously agreed by all parties in the unity pact.
"There is no dispute. All parties within the pact agree to field a candidate from PKR to contest the by-election.
"This is also based on the spirit that the party which contested the seat previously be fielded again this time around.
"We will go into the Sungai Bakap by-election in the spirit of togetherness and based on the pact's unity, which has been visible since the last general and state elections.
"We will go into this by-election to win it," he told newsmen after a meeting with leaders from all parties in the pact.
The seat fell vacant following the death of its incumbent, Nor Zamri Latiff, from Pas last month.
In the 2023 state polls, Zamri won the Sungi Bakap state seat against PKR's Nurhidayah Che Rus with a 1,563 vote-majority.
Prior to this, there have been calls for a candidate from Umno to be fielded.
Chow, who is state Pakatan Harapan chairman, also announced the appointment of Datuk Dr Mohamad Abdul Hamid as the director of the Sungai Bakap by-election.
Mohamad is the deputy chief minister I.
He said four deputies would be named, representing all parties in the unity pact.
Meanwhile, state PKR chief Nurul Izzah Anwar said the party had submitted the names of five potential candidates to the top leadership for a decision.
She said they comprised both men and women, young and old.
"What is important is we field a winnable candidate.
"We will field someone influential and has been of service," she added.
State Barisan Nasional chairman Datuk Musa Sheikh Fadzir said they supported the PKR candidate to be fielded for the seat.
Similar support was also voiced by representatives from other parties.
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