Terengganu polls and GE16 are separate matters, Tuan Ibrahim tells Puad

The Terengganu state election and the 16th general election (GE16) are different matters, says PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man in response to a claim by former Umno leader Puad Zarkashi that the party has been inconsistent in its stance on holding early elections.

Tuan Ibrahim said his support for an earlier GE16 did not mean the party had to agree with the proposal to hold the Terengganu election earlier as well.

“A general election is not the same as a state election,” he told FMT when commenting on Puad’s statement that PAS’s use of cost as a reason for rejecting early Terengganu polls reinforced the view the party was not sincere in cooperating ahead of GE16.

Puad, a former Umno Supreme Council member, had also questioned Tuan Ibrahim’s stance, saying the PAS leader had previously supported bringing forward GE16 but, at the same time, rejected the proposal to dissolve the Terengganu state assembly earlier.

Last week, Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan urged the PAS-led Terengganu government to dissolve the state assembly and hold a snap election to prove the Islamic party’s sincerity about Malay unity.

He said if Umno and PAS could agree on a formula for seat allocations in Terengganu, a similar approach could be adopted for GE16.

However, Tuan Ibrahim shot down Mohamad’s call, saying it would burden voters and incur unnecessary costs.

In the August 2023 Terengganu election, Umno failed to win any of the 32 state seats it contested.

The party also lost all eight parliamentary seats in the state in the 15th general election in 2022.