LANGKAWI (April 28):  Pakatan Harapan chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad regrets that caretaker Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan had won the Rantau seat uncontested after the Pakatan candidate was not allowed into the nomination centre.

Dr Streram Sinnasamy, the Pakatan  candidate, and both his proposer and seconder were not allowed into the nomination centre for failing to have their Election Commission (EC) tags, allowing Mohamad to bag the state seat for a fourth term.

“I regret that he won uncontested because of the mistake of our candidate,” said Mahathir, who is contesting the Langkawi parliamentary seat.

“I also hear that Tian Chua (Pakatan’s candidate for the Batu parliamentray seat in Kuala Lumpur) was disqualified although no reason was given why he should be disqualified,” added the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) chairman.

Speaking to reporters at the wedding luncheon of PPBM Langkawi division vice head Shukor Bahari’s two children, Mahathir said that apart from the discrepancies, he felt "everything is okay".

Mahathir was approved as the candidate for Langkawi by EC returning officer Mohammad Arof Darus. His opponents are Barisan Nasional’s Datuk Nawawi Ahmad and PAS’ Zubir Ahmad.

“Everything is going on very well now (after my nomination). It is going according to the plan but I don’t know with (BN chief and caretaker Prime Minister) Datuk Seri Najib Razak. (So far) I think the support seems to be very good (for me).

“However, we don’t know what other tricks he (Najib) has in mind but that is typical of him...trying to prevent me from coming here and in the process I could have met with a serious accident,” he said, in reference to his claim yesterday that the private jet he boarded from Subang to Langkawi  may have been sabotaged.

Mahathir maintained that he does not want to lodge a police report over the incident, claiming that the police would not investigate.

On whether he would still campaign in other areas despite the 10-day candidate application rule, he said: “I am not sure if that order is true or not. I am a leader of the party. I can go anywhere where my party is contesting.”