KUALA LUMPUR, Oct. 3 -- A PAS-linked academic said on the party's Harakahdaily mouthpiece that a Muslim candidate must contest the Batu Sapi by-election triggered by former minister Datuk Liew Vui Keong's death.

Senior lecturer Prof Kamarul Zaman Yusoff wrote an article titled "Letak Calon Islam di Batu Sapi (Field a Muslim candidate in Batu Sapi)" on the website, in which he concluded that the seat had been a Barisan Nasional stronghold since 2003.

He said that if BN and Perikatan Nasional did not squabble over the seat, they could wrest it back from Warisan.

The academic said this was because the constituency was primarily Bumiputera-Muslim (65.1 per cent), followed by the Chinese (30.0 per cent), mon-Muslim Bumiputera (4.1 per cent)...