Manek Urai by-election, 2009

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Manek Urai state as­­semblyman Ismail Yaacob, aged 60 died of a heart attack on May 22, 2009. ^[1]Kuala Krai PAS deputy chief, first won the seat in 1986. In last year’s general election, he defeated Barisan Nasional’s Zulkepli Omar by 1,352 votes. ^[2] The Malaysian Election Commission set the polling for the Manek Urai by-election on July 14, 2009 while nomination day was set on July 6, 2009.^[3] Ismail Yaacob was recently elected the

Election Background

PAS Election Director, Datuk Mustafa Ali has advised the Barisan Nasional not to contest in the by-election for the state seat and also said that the state seat was indeed PAS’s strongest “fortress'.^[4] PAS spiritual leader Datuk Seri Nik Abdul Aziz blasted Barisan Nasional for their decision to contest in Manek Urai, slamming the decision as a reflection of their arrogance and hypocrisy. “When they did not want to contest at Penanti, they said they wanted to focus on improving the country’s economy and not play the political game supposedly created by me. But it seems that the economy of the country, in fact the world, has been solved since BN now has the time to contest there” he said.^[5]