KOTA BARU: Kelantan Umno will leave it to the Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional (BN) leadership to decide on the request of the Gua Musang member of parliament who plans to defend the seat if it is declared vacant.

Umno information chief Datuk Zawawi Othman, however, said the party leadership's decision must receive the approval of all quarters, especially the Umno Division chief of Gua Musang, Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.

"Whoever wants to contest, in the event the Gua Musang parliamentary seat is declared vacant, is not the main issue as there are many candidates. The important thing is the party.

"The first thing is that he (current MP Mohd Azizi Abu Naim) must have a party if he wants to contest. "At the same time, whether the seat is contested by BN or PH must be based on the support in the area."

However, he said, Umno Kelantan would adhere to whatever decision made by the party but that it must consider everyone's views.

"If the Umno President (Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi) and Tengku Razaleigh agree, that is part of our decision," he said.

Yesterday, Azizi said he would defend his current seat if the decision of the Speaker of the Dewan Rakyat, Tan Sri Johari Abdul does not favour him.

Azizi said he would try to convince the leadership of PH and BN that he is the most qualified candidate to contest and defend the seat.

He said he had started working to win the Kelantan state election since 2020 and it would be unfair if the seat was given to another in the event of the seat being declared vacant.

https://www.nst.com.my/news/politics/2024/07/1071206/ph-bn-leadership-gua-musang-seat-says-kelantan-umno