KEPALA BATAS (THE STAR/ASIA NEWS NETWORK) - Penang PAS (Parti Islam SeMalaysia) Youth chief Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden has been chosen to contest the Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat held by opposition leader Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.
The announcement was made by PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang during a ceramah at the party's headquarters in Pongsu Seribu here.
Afnan, who hails from Penanti, is also PAS Youth secretary and the son of former Baling MP Datuk Taib Azamudden Md Taib.
He joined PAS in 1996 when he was only 14 years old.
Now aged 37 and a full-time businessman, he is married with six children and has a Masters in Islamic Development Management from Universiti Sains Malaysia.
Also present at the launch was Penang PAS commissioner Muhammad Fauzi Yusoff, Penang PAS elections director Bukhori Ghazali and Parti Cinta Malaysia deputy president Datuk Huan Cheng Guan.
Dr Wan Azizah, 64 year-old president of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), retained the Permatang Pauh seat with a reduced majority of 8841 votes, with a vote count of 30316 in a by-election in 2015.
The seat used to be held by her husband Anwar Ibrahim. Anwar is expected to be released from jail on June 8 and he cannot contest an election for five years unless he gets a pardon from the Malaysian King.
