KUALA KRAI: Returning Officer Adnan Hussin announced the list of candidates at 11.10 a.m. outside the nomination centre at the Dewan Petra, Sekolah Menengah Kebangsaan Sultan Yahya Petra 1, here.

The announcement was greeted by thunderous applause from the sea of BN and PAS supporters.

Tuan Aziz, 39, was the first to file his papers at 9.05am followed by Mohd Fauzi, 50, shortly after.

The nomination process proceeded smoothly despite the presence of thousands of partisan supporters.

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin earlier led BN supporters in a 2.4km march from the Kuala Krai Umno division office to the nomination centre at about 7.20 a.m.

Among Umno leaders present were BN election director for Manik Urai Datuk Mustapa Mohamed, all three Umno vice-presidents Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein and Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal; as well as supreme council member Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim, who is also Information Communication and Culture Minister.

Also present were BN component leaders including MCA vice-president Datuk Seri Dr Ng Yen Yen.

Meanwhile, Mohd Fauzi, accompanied by PAS supporters, led by spiritual leader Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, marched a distance of 2km from the al-Jauhar Mosque in Guchil to the nomination centre at 7.30 a.m.

Other leaders in the march were PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang, PAS vice-president Salahuddin Ayub, party secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) vice-president Azmin Ali and PKR information chief Tian Chua.

Angkatan Keadilan Insan Malaysia (Akim) president Hanafi Mamat, who had previously said he would contest in the by-election, did not turn up to file his papers.

Both sides were in high spirit, with the BN camp marching to the nomination centre singing patriotic songs and party anthem.

Not to be outdone, PAS supporters sang the takbir.

The weather was fine, adding merriment to the carnival-like atmosphere.

Announcing the names of candidates, Adnan said one objection was received from PAS which wanted BN candidate Tuan Aziz to prove that he had resigned as the Monitoring and Coordinating Manager of Kesedar programme.

Adnan said he rejected the objection after hearing explanation from the BN side.

Che Hasan Che Ngah, 51 proposed Tuan Aziz's candidacy and supported by Mohd Zamri Mohd Noor, 43, while Idrus Jalal, 69, proposed Mohd Fauzi's candidacy and supported by Abdul Halim Hamzah, 47.

Polling for the by-election is from 8am to 5pm on July 14 in 27 polling streams in nine polling centres.

Manik Urai has 12,293 voters including 25 postal voters. Of the total electorates, 99.2 are Malays, Chinese (0.46 per cent) and Indian (0.23 per cent).

Tuan Aziz, the Kuala Krai Umno Youth chief, holds a bachelor degree in technology management from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) while Mohd Fauzi, the Kuala Krai PAS treasurer, is a fish wholesaler at the Kuala Krai market.

The by-election is held following the death of incumbent assemblyman Ismail Yaacob of PAS on May 22 due to a heart attack.

In the 2008 general election, Ismail won the seat with a majority of 1,352 votes, beating BN's Mohamed Zulkifli Omar.

This is the first by-election in Kelantan and the sixth in the country after the 12th general election in March last year. (Bernama)