KUALA LUMPUR - With only nine days to go before the nomination day for the state polls in Selangor, Kedah, Penang, Kelantan, Terengganu and Negeri Sembilan, political parties in the country are starting to set dates to announce their respective candidates to be fielded in the national political arena.
The country's two giant political alliances, Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional (BN), working together for the first time under the Unity Government to secure people’s mandate in the polls are ready to announce their candidates, after going through a series of discussions.
BN, which is expected to contest 45 per cent of the 245 state seats in the upcoming state polls, will field candidates from UMNO, after its component parties, MIC and MCA, decided not to contest on Aug 12.
The coalition of the country's oldest political parties will announce more than 100 candidates tomorrow evening at the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur (WTC KL), here, while PH, especially PKR, is expected to announce its candidates to contest the 59 state constituency seats in a ceremony at the Shah Alam City Council (MBSA), this Saturday (July 22).
However, PKR's ally, DAP, has yet to announce the date to unveil its candidates, even though Penang DAP secretary, Lim Hui Ying, said that the state party is expected to announce the full list of its 19 contesting candidates next week.
It is understood that DAP will field candidates in all 48 state seats won by the party in the 14th General Election (GE14), with 19 seats in Penang, Selangor (16), Negeri Sembilan (11) and Kedah (two).
Another PH component party, Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah), will announce the full list of candidates, which is around 31 to 34 individuals this Monday (July 24), but its president, Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu, has yet to disclose the location and time of the announcement thus far.
Perikatan Nasional (PN), which consists of three major component parties, namely Bersatu, PAS and Gerakan, has decided to announce their respective candidates to contest in the elections through the PN candidate declaration ceremony.
The Selangor PN is expected to announce its candidates on July 25, while other states will make an announcement on July 27.
Meanwhile, the PN candidate declaration ceremony in Kedah, scheduled for tomorrow, has been postponed until next Tuesday, which is understood to change Kedah's PAS strategy in the face of the state elections.
PN’s cooperation with Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang), which led to the 'Malay Proclamation', still does not seem very clear, with Pejuang’s own position still ambiguous as to whether it will field candidates this time around.
The Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (MUDA), which is only contesting 10 per cent of the total seats, is the first party to start announcing its candidates, in phases since July 14, with eight in Selangor and one each in Terengganu and Penang respectively.
Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM), which is working with MUDA in the polls, announced its first candidate on July 14, for the Meru seat.
At the same time, although there has been no official announcement, Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari; Penang Chief Minister Chow Kon Yeow and Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor, have been tipped to be retained for the post if their respective parties continue to receive the people’s mandate.
The Election Commission (EC) has set the state polls in Selangor, Kedah, Penang, Kelantan, Terengganu and Negeri Sembilan to be held simultaneously on Aug 12, with nomination day on July 29 and early voting on Aug 8.
The polls involve 36 seats in Kedah, Kelantan (45), Terengganu (32), Penang (40), Selangor (56) and Negeri Sembilan (36). - Bernama