SEREMBAN: PAS clarified that its candidate for the Bahau seat is not the chairman of a tahfiz centre but rather a funder, according to Negri Sembilan party chief Rafiei Mustapha.
Rafiei explained that there may have been a mistake in the profile of the 54-year-old candidate, P.M. Kumar, who is the state DHPP (PAS Supporters Congress) deputy chief. The profile incorrectly stated that Kumar was the chairman of the tahfiz centre.
“I am certain that this mistake was not intentional. However, we have requested the party to rectify it in order to avoid any misunderstandings,” Rafiei stated.
Rafiei, who is running for the Pilah seat on the Perikatan Nasional ticket, clarified that Kumar is actually a funder for an al-Quran tahfiz centre in Sabah.
He then apologized for the oversight and emphasized that the mistake was unintentional and was not intended to deceive voters.
“The candidate’s profile should have been reviewed by the war room first and then sent to the information section for verification before being shared on any platform. It seems that this process was not followed,” he admitted, adding that as a result, certain parties started attacking PAS and Perikatan.
Rafiei stated that even if Kumar is not the chairman of a tahfiz centre, he is still qualified to be a PAS candidate.
Questions arose when Kumar’s election profile mentioned him as “pengerusi Pusat Tahfiz Al-Quran” (chairman of the tahfiz centre) among other designations.
Kumar was scheduled to hold a press conference on Tuesday (Aug 1) to clarify this matter, but it was cancelled.
Kumar is competing directly against DAP incumbent Teo Kok Seong for the Bahau seat.
In addition to Kumar, PAS is also fielding two other DHPP members as candidates in the state election this time around: N Sathes Kumar for the Mambau seat and S. Ragu in Lukut.
Credit: The Star : News Feed
