KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak today said he is confident that the choice of Puan Sri Jamilah Anu as the Barisan Nasional (BN)’s candidate for the Tanjung Datu by-election is appropriate.

“I am confident that the candidate chosen for the Tanjung Datu State Assembly by-election, Puan Sri Jamilah Anu, is the best… to continue (to) service the local community, (and) the legacy, work and vision of the late Tan Sri Adenan Satem,” he said in his Facebook posting today.

Najib, who is also the BN Chairman, said whether or not the opposition contests in the by-election, the coalition’s machinery must be prepared.

“Ensure that the seat remains with BN,” he said. Jamilah, the widow of Adenan, was announced as the BN candidate for the Tanjong Datu seat, which fell vacant following the death of the Sarawak Chief Minister on Jan 11.

The Election Commission had fixed nomination and polling days for the by-election this Saturday and Feb 18, respectively.

In the state election in May last year, Adenan returned as the Tanjong Datu assemblyman after he polled 6,360 votes against PKR’s Jazolkipli Numan, who only obtained 468 votes.

-New Straits Times