The Malaysian Insight

FORMER air force officer Mohd Nazari Mokhtar is contesting the Port Dickson by-election because he was slighted by PKR’s move to remove an ex-army officer from Parliament.

The PAS man said it was unnecessary to have Danyal Balagopal Abdullah quit as MP to allow PKR president-elect Anwar Ibrahim to contest.

“He shouldn’t have left his portfolio as MP of Port Dickson. He was representing us, almost 300,000 veterans in the whole of Malaysia,” Nazari told The Malaysian Insight in an interview.

He said Danyal should not have given up the seat and risked military personnel’s rights being forsaken in Parliament.

“They (veterans) are frustrated. This post shouldn’t be handed to (Anwar). I couldn’t care less.

“But as military personnel, we have to fight. We had our representative, and he should have fought for us, not leave us like this.”

He said Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail should have given up the Pandan seat for her husband instead.

“To me, the place that is the most suitable for Anwar to take over is where his wife is, not Port Dickson.”

Nazari, who holds a master’s in defence and strategic studies, said he plans to bring up issues like the welfare of military personnel, which has been abandoned by the Pakatan Harapan government.

“We are together, we are on the same platform. So, we fight for the veterans and military.”

He said he will get veterans’ groups, like Pahlawan and National Patriots Association, to help in his campaign.

As for non-military folk, he said, should he win, he will boost the quality of tourism in Port Dickson, so that the seaside town lives up to its full potential.

“Port Dickson is a tourist town. But we don’t have many facilities here. It needs to be world-class.

“We want to have a plan, a blueprint, for residents to discuss the budget and all that, to make it better,” said the 57-year-old PAS commissioner in Tenggara, Johor.

The Port Dickson by-election was called after Danyal vacated the seat for Anwar, who is aiming to re-enter Parliament.

While Barisan Nasional and Umno have decided to boycott the polls, former Negri Sembilan menteri besar Isa Samad last night announced that he will contest as an independent.

Parti Rakyat Malaysia and independent candidate Stevie Chan Keng Leng, too, have said they will stand in the polls.

Nomination will be held tomorrow, while polling has been set for October 13. – September 28, 2018.