Sources familiar with the matter said Samsuri, who is PAS vice-president, may be proposed by the party leadership to bolster the opposition’s voice in Parliament.

“He has credibility and he would be better at raising national issues in the Dewan Rakyat. But this is still at the proposal stage, and it’s said that Samsuri is inclined to remain in the state,” the source told FMT.

The source said Che Alias Hamid, who won the seat at the general election in November 2022 before it was nullified, remains the main contender for the seat.

PAS has since confirmed that Che Alias was in the running for the seat. “His candidacy is being pushed by PAS Kemaman and traditionally, the top leadership would submit to the wishes of the grassroots.”

Samsuri’s potential candidacy comes a day after PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man revealed that former minister Annuar Musa was among the names being proposed as candidate, apart from former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

However Tuan Ibrahim said: “God willing, the candidate will be from PAS.”

PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang has said it would be “unreasonable” to field Mahathir.

In the general election last year, Che Alias won by a majority of 27,179 votes in a four-cornered contest that also featured former Terengganu menteri besar Ahmad Said.

However, the result was nullified on Sept 26 when an election court in Kuala Terengganu held that the distribution of government aid to voters during the campaign period constituted election bribery.