SIBU: Nangka assemblyman Dr Annuar Rapaee said he will leave it up to Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Abang Johari Tun Openg to decide whether he will defend his seat in the upcoming 12th state election.
The Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu (PBB) vice president said that so far there has been no decision on the candidates yet.
“I am telling the truth that PBB has not decided who will contest in Nangka constituency in the next election,” he told reporters when met at a Persatuan Melayu Melanau Bersatu (PMMB) dinner here on Friday.
Dr Annuar, who is also the Assistant Minister of Education, Science and Technology Research said that the list of candidates would be decided by the party’s top leadership, especially the president because he knows better.
“In addition, this requires a lot of feedback from various parties on winnable candidates,” he said.
Dr Annuar said it was a unique tradition of PBB to leave it to wisdom of the party’s top leadership to decide on candidates to stand in the election.
“The most important thing is that the party achieves victory in the election,” he said.
Dr Annuar pointed out that during the PBB meeting, the discussion was on the party’s preparations for the state election and to serve the people and not on the choice of candidates.
“It has become a PBB tradition that whoever is nominated by the top leadership to contest in the election, the candidate will be fully supported by all branches of the party to ensure victory.
“For example, in 2011 during the 10th state election, when I was asked to contest in Nangka constituency, I was very grateful because all PBB branches, especially their respective leaders gave me strong support, even though I was not a PBB member at the time,” he said.
For the record, Dr Annuar retained the Nangka state seat with a majority of 7,617 votes in the last state election.
He won 9,617 votes in a three-cornered fight against Abdul Raafidin Majidi who contested on a Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) ticket who obtained 2,000 votes, while Simon Tiong Ing Tung who represented STAR, only secured 773 votes.
