KUALA LUMPUR: Mohd Azizi Abu Naim says he hopes the unity government coalition will give him the chance to defend his Gua Musang parliament seat in the event a by-election is called for the constituency.

Mohd Azizi said he had been working on the ground in Gua Musang since the Covid-19 pandemic in 2020.

"I laid the groundwork since 2020 during the movement control order (MCO).

"Why should I give up the seat to others if there was a by-election?

"I will use this reason to meet the Pakatan Harapan/Barisan Nasional leadership to urge them to give me a chance to contest again" he said during a press conference in Parliament on Monday (July 1).

Mohd Azizi claimed that Perikatan did not expect to win the Gua Musang seat in the 16th General Election as veteran MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah had held the seat for multiple terms.

"I wasn't given any resources (by Perikatan to contest) but we still struggled for two years to carry out activities to woo younger voters," he added.

He said he is backing the government of the day and will leave it to the leadership to decide who contests.

In June, Mohd Azizi, who is also Nenggiri state assemblyman, took the Kelantan Speaker to court for declaring his state seat vacant.

The Kelantan state assembly had received a notice under Clause(3) of Article 31A of the Kelantan constitution from Mohd Azizi on June 13 and a notice from Bersatu stating that he was no longer a party member.

He was among the six Bersatu MPs, along with a Selangor assemblyman, whose memberships were revoked after they failed to respond to a letter requesting that they pledge their allegiance to the party.

Meanwhile, Mohd Azizi said he would not defend his Nenggiri state seat and would instead assist the unity government candidate.

"I will do my best and leverage on my experience to help the candidate chosen by the leadership," he said.

He also said the "Bersatu Six" had sent a 20-point letter to the Speaker's office on June 27 stating that the six had been wronged after the party leadership decided to revoke their respective memberships.

He also said that the contents of the letter would be made public soon.

On June 24, Parliament Speaker Johari Abdul confirmed he had received a notice from Bersatu declaring the vacancy of six parliamentary seats, namely Labuan, Gua Musang, Keli, Kuala Kangsar, Tanjong Karang and Bukit Gantang.

Johari said he needed 21 days to review the notice.

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2024/07/01/mohd-azizi-says-he-hopes-to-defend-gua-musang-in-event-of-by-election