The seat of Kuala Besut fell vacant after the death of incumbent assemblyman, A. Rahman Mokhtar on 26 June 2013 from lung cancer.
[1] Dr. Mokhtar was an assemblyman from the United Malays National Organisation, a component party of the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, which holds a 1-seat majority into the by-election.
The by-election was contested by Tengku Zaihan Che Ku Abdul Rahman from UMNO and Azlan Yusof, who hails from the Pakatan Rakyat component Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party.
A win by Pakatan Rakyat would have resulted in a hung parliament with both coalition holding 16 seats, and potentially a fresh state election.
"Federal Government Gazette - Notice of Contested Election - By-election of the State Legislative Assembly of N.01 Kuala Besut for the State of Terengganu [P.U.