| Abd Aziz Mat Kiram Is BN Candidate For Batu Talam |
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BN CANDIDATE… The secretary of Raub Umno division, Abd Aziz Mat Kiram is announced as the BN candidate for the by-election for the Batu Talam state seat. Pix: Mohd Faizol
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RAUB, Jan 16 (Bernama) -- The secretary of the Raub Umno division, Abd Aziz Mat Kiram, has been announced as the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate for the by-election for the Batu Talam state seat.
The announcement was made by Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak late Monday night in front of more than 2,000 people who had filled up the grounds of the Raub Umno office, here.
Among those present were Pahang Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob, who is also Pahang Umno and BN Liaison chairman, Umno vice-president Datuk Seri Ali Rustam, Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Radzi Sheikh Ahmad, MCA deputy president Datuk Seri Chan Kong Choy, Gerakan deputy president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon and Information Minister Datuk Seri Zainuddin Maidin.
Abd Aziz, 47, who hails from Kampung Batu Malim, was announced as the BN candidate after obtaining the consent of Umno president Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
Nomination of candidates for the Batu Talam state seat would be held Tuesday at the Raub District Office Operations Room.
In his speech at the gathering, Najib said the Prime Minister and he had confidence in the choice of candidate made by the Pahang Umno Liaison chairman.
He said in jest that the last-minute announcement of the candidate before the nomination day Tuesday was to create an atmosphere of suspense.
"The longer the wait in making the decision (on the BN candidate), the more suspenseful it is, but this (late decision) is not because of lobbying, no one had come to me to lobby, so I'm confident that our candidate can be easily accepted by everyone," Najib said.
He was also confident that the six other people included in the list of candidates in the early stage would not be disappointed with the decision made.
"I'm confident that everyone will place party interest above personal interest," he said.
On the by-election scheduled for Jan 28 and which is being boycotted by PAS and Keadilan, Najib said the Umno election machinery should not treat the matter "lightly" or to take it easy.
"The by-election is not something that is to be taken lightly nor is it a fair where everyone can be complacent, or merely to make up the crowd. Instead, we must be serious to ensure a big win," Najib said.
Najib said the move by PAS and Keadilan to boycott the by-election could be a ploy by them as they were no longer confident of receiving the support of the voters in Batu Talam.
The Deputy Prime Minister said the by-election would also be a yardstick that would reflect the people's support for the BN government before the next general election.
-- BERNAMA
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