The announcement was made by Port Dickson MP Datuk Danyal Balagopal Abdullah at a special press conference at PKR headquarters in Petaling Jaya yesterday.

Danyal said the decision was made to assist Anwar in his efforts to return as an MP and subsequently become the eighth prime minister (PM).

“I am confident that Anwar will win the seat hands down and proceed to become the next MP for Port Dickson and InsyaAllah, eventually become our nation’s eighth PM.

“Hence, I am now announcing my resignation as an MP of representatives in the Malaysian Parliament with immediate effect. I have sent my resignation letter as an MP to the Dewan Rakyat Speaker earlier today,” he told reporters yesterday.

Also present at the special press conference were PKR secretary general Datuk Saifuddin Nasution Ismail, former Pandan MP and non-governmental organisation Invoke founder Rafizi Ramli, Sungai Petani MP Datuk Johari Abdul and Wangsa Maju MP Datin Paduka Dr Tan Yee Kew.

When asked if any compensation was given to Danyal for his decision to vacate his seat, Saifuddin said there was no such thing.

“There was none, that is the beauty of being a PKR member, we don’t have to worry about that,” he said.

According to Danyal, he first discussed his aspiration to vacate his seat with former Pandan MP Rafizi, who thanked him for his intended sacrifice for the party and nation.

Danyal also held several meetings with Saifuddin and Anwar himself, who was pleasantly obliged with his gesture.

“Late last night, I was informed by Rafizi that after discussion with the party leadership, Anwar had decided to accept my offer and chose Port Dickson as the constituency where he would like to stand,” he said.

Danyal also thanked voters and supporters who voted for him in the recent general election.

In the 14th General Election, Danyal won the Port Dickson seat with a comfortable majority of 17,710 votes.

Danyal got 36,225 votes, defeating Barisan Nasional’s VS Mogan (18,515 votes) and Mahfuz Roslan of PAS (6,594 votes).

Meanwhile, Pakatan Harapan Negri Sembilan is overjoyed that Anwar will be contesting in the Port Dickson by-election, said its chairman Aminuddin Harun.

The Negri Sembilan mentri besar said it is a great honour for the state as Anwar is slated to succeed Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad as Malaysia’s eighth PM.

“If this turns out to be a reality, Anwar will be the first MP from Negri Sembilan to become PM. We are very happy with the announcement that Anwar will be contesting in the Port Dickson by-election.

“This is the right decision and we in Negeri Sembilan will go all out to ensure his victory. Just a while ago, I was asked to form an election committee, which I will be doing tomorrow, to put the machinery in place,” he told a press conference in Seremban yesterday. — Bernama