Malaysia begins 14-day election campaign, with 945 candidates getting the nod to contest

MALAYSIA has officially kicked off campaigning for the Nov 19 general election, after the Election Commission approved the nomination of candidates for 222 seats in the federal Parliament and 116 seats in three state legislatures - Perak, Pahang and Perlis.

The ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition nominated 295 candidates, among them 178 of parliament seats and 117 for state seats, said EC chairman Abdul Ghani Salleh at a press conference in Putrajaya.

BN - Malaysia’s longest-governing political coalition - is seeking to reclaim its dominance after its shock defeat at the last election in 2018.

Pakatan Harapan (PH), the largest opposition coalition led by former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim, nominated the highest number of candidates nationwide with 322 for 206 parliament seats and 1115 state seats.

The Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition led by former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin are sending 265 candidates to fight for 149 parliament seats and 116 state seats.

The EC on Saturday approved 945 nominations for parliament seats and 434 for state seats, six candidates were rejected. In addition to the polls for the 222 parliamentary seats and the three state elections, there will also be a by-election for the Bugaya state seat in Sabah.

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Here are three talking points that emerged from Nomination Day:

1. Scores of multi-cornered fights

There are many keenly-fought battles to watch out for, with scores of constituencies are facing multi-cornered fights.

The Batu constituency in Kuala Lumpur saw 10 candidates - including four independents - throwing their names in the hat for the seat. One of the independents is former PKR vice-president Tian Chua, who nominated himself after he was dropped by his party.

Among the other parliament seats which are being contested by multiple candidates include Ampang (nine candidates), Bangi (eight) and Sepang (eight).

Caretaker health minister Khairy Jamaluddin is running for Sungai Buloh parliament seat in this election, and he will face fierce competition from six rivals.

2. Big guns face tough battle to stay in power

Caretaker Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who is also the vice president of the United Malays National Organisation (Umno), faces a three-way fight against Abas Awang from PH and Asmawi Harun from Perikatan Nasional (PN).

At a separate press conference on Saturday, Ismail said the coalition is confident in winning the majority of seats in the upcoming polls despite many tough fights.

On whether there will be changes on Umno’s candidate to become Malaysia’s next prime minister, he stressed that the decision to name him as the candidate was made by Umno’s supreme council and the general assembly, with the support from 156 out of 190 divisions in the party.

“Every candidate must be confident when competing. I myself am confident, and BN also has the confidence,” said Ismail. “The leaders of BN and Umno have stated many times that this time we can be the dominant party in parliament.”

Umno president and former deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is in a four-cornered fight to defend the Bagan Datuk parliamentary seat for a seventh term.

Anwar, the 75-year-old president of Parti Keadilan Rakyat and the prime minister candidate for the PH coalition, will compete for Tambun parliament seat in a four-way contest.

“We are here to offer an alternative because of the failure of the present policies ... and the social tension among various communities,” said Anwar as he began his walkabouts on Saturday.

Mahathir Mohamad, who is also Gerakan Tanah Air chairman, is in a five-cornered challenge as he looks to defend the Langkawi parliamentary seat. This will be the 11th general election outing for the 97-year old two-time former prime minister, who is also the oldest candidate for this general election.

Former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who is also Perikatan Nasional chairman and Bersatu president, faces a three-cornered challenge to retain the Pagoh parliament seat for a sixth term.

3. Many first-time, prominent candidates

Making his debut at an election, caretaker Finance Minister Zafrul Abdul Aziz will take on former health minister Dzulkefly Ahmad in a four-way fight for the Kuala Selangor parliamentary seat.

Lim Hui Ying, the daughter of veteran politician Lim Kit Siang, is also taking part in a general election for the first time as she contests the Tanjong parliament seat in Penang. The 59-year old is involved in a three-cornered fight with BN’s Tan Kim Nee and PN’s H’ng Khoon Leng.

Nizar Mohd Najib, the eldest son of former prime minister Najib Razak, is another candidate who is making electoral debut as he looks to win the Peramu Jaya state seat. He will compete against PH’s Tigumon Abdul Hamid, PN’s Abu Talib Muhammad and independent candidate Zainul Hisham.