KUALA LUMPUR (Jan 18): UMNO and PAS are to join forces in the campaign in the Semenyih State by-election set for March 2, UMNO vice-president Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob said today.

He said the top leadership of the two parties had met over the by-election.

PAS had announced that it had decided to make way for the Barisan Nasional (BN), of which UMNO, MCA and MIC are component parties, in the Semenyih by-election, the nomination for which is on Feb 16.

“The PAS decision to make way for the BN shows the PAS spirit of solidarity and sincerity to work together to champion Islam,” Ismail Sabri said in a statement.

He also said that the Selangor UMNO Management Committee had agreed to propose five or six names for the UMNO management to consider as the BN candidate.

The by-election is being held following the death of the Assemblyman, Bakhtiar Mohd Nor, 57, of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) of a heart attack on Jan 11.

In the 14th general election last May, Bakhtiar garnered 23,428 votes to beat three other candidates, Datuk Johan Abd Aziz (BN), Mad Shahmidur Mat Kosim (PAS) and S. Arutchelvan (PSM), by a majority of 8,964 votes.