Ulu Kelang assemblyman Saari Sungib said he was prepared to face a tough battle even if it turns out to be a “10-cornered fight”.
“Like it or not, it is inevitable.
“To me, I am well prepared and ready to start my campaign with policies for the people because this is my focus in the next general election,” he told FMT in an interview.
The two-term assemblyman won 21,310 votes in 2013 general election, while his Umno opponent, Abdul Rahim Pandak Kamarudin, obtained 18,429 votes.
In August 2014, Saari and his former PAS colleague and Morib assemblyman Hasnul Baharuddin, along with 13 PKR and 15 DAP assemblymen, signed statutory declarations to support PKR president and Kajang assemblyman Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail to be the menteri besar.
Saari and Hasnul’s actions saw them being suspended for a year from PAS in October that year.
Both of them later joined Amanah in 2015, after several PAS leaders such as Mohamad Sabu and Salahudin Ayub left the Islamist party.
Saari said as an elected representative, he took no offence if the locals of Ulu Kelang did not know his name despite being there for almost a decade.
“But they know that this Adun (assemblyman) has done his work in helping the people to secure their land applications and ensuring their neighbourhood is clean.”
He believed voters are wise to elect a person capable of meeting their needs and looking after their welfare.
“Why would they want to face someone who ‘fools’ the people?” Saari asked.
Family ‘boycotted’ in PAS
Saari said after he had openly expressed support for Wan Azizah for menteri besar, his former party gave him and his family members a tough time.
It included suspending his wife and children in the Muslimat and youth wings at the Ulu Kelang division level.
“My wife was removed from the Muslimat wing, and she was never informed about it.
“My son, who worked for the division’s Youth wing’s information system unit, was also sacked.
“The Youth wing openly condemned me,” he said, when asked if his action had created any dissatisfaction among PAS members and locals in Ulu Kelang.
Saari said he was also sidelined and not allowed into mosques that had a strong PAS influence.
“Can you imagine an elected representative not being welcome in a mosque?”
Although the grassroots PAS members gave him a tough time, Saari said locals stood behind him.
“They told me regardless of which party I joined after PAS, they knew I would never leave them or stop serving them,” Saari said.
He added that some local Umno leaders in Ulu Kelang said they sympathised with him.
Subsequently, Amanah was formed and at its first press conference in 2015, he was chosen as a central committee member.
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2014/08/26/ft-pas-demands-action-against-saari-and-hasnul/
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2014/08/14/wan-azizah-30-reps-behind-me/