PUTRAJAYA, 29 April 2018:
The Election Commission (EC) yesterday received 2,333 nomination forms for the 14th General Election (GE14) during the one-hour nomination period which took place from 9am.
EC chairman Tan Sri Mohd Hashim Abdullah said out of the total, 687 forms were for the 222 parliamentary seats and 1,646 for the 505 state seats.
During the nomination period, 11 nomination forms were rejected for various reasons, involving three parliamentary seats and eight state seats,” he said in a statement.
He also confirmed Negri Sembilan Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan of BN won the Rantau state seat unopposed. This was after PKR candidate Dr S. Streram was prevented from entering the nomination centre for failing to bring along his EC candidate’s pass.
An independent candidate, K. Kanafatty also withdrew his nomination for the Skudai state seat during the nomination period, he said.
Mohd Hashim said of the number of candidates nominated for parliamentary seats,
- 222 were from BN;
- 191 (PKR);
- 158 (PAS);
- 24 (Independent);
- Parti Warisan Sabah (Warisan) (17);
- Parti Harapan Rakyat Sabah-HR (15);
- DAP (12);
- Parti Cinta Sabah (PCS) (eight);
- Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM) (six);
- Parti Bersama Malaysia (MU) (five);
- Parti Reformasi Negeri (STAR) (five);
- Malaysian Socialist Party (PSM) (four); and
- Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (Solidariti) (three).
The Penang Front Party (PFP), the Sarawak Peace Party, Parti Anak Negeri Sabah, Parti Perpaduan Rakyat Sabah (PPRS), and Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP) each had two parliamentary candidates.
In addition, Barisan Jemaah Islamiah Se-Malaysia (Berjasa), Parti Cinta Malaysia (PCM), Parti Bumi Kenyalang (PBK), Parti Negara Dayak Sarawak Baru (PBDSB), Parti Amanah Negara, People’s Alternative Party (PAP) and Pertubuhan Perpaduan Rakyat Kebangsaan Sabah (Perpaduan) each had one parliamentary candidate respectively.
Mohd Hashim said for the state seats,
- 505 candidates represented BN,
- 448 (PKR), 393 (PAS),
- 54 (Independent),
- 45 (Warisan),
- 33 (PRM),
- 26 (HR),
- 20 (MU),
- 18 (PCS)
- and 16 (PKS).
PSM and Solidariti each had 12 candidates for state seats, PFP (11), PAP and Parti Anak Negeri Sabah each nine candidates, PPRS and STAR each eight candidates respectively, DAP (seven) and SAPP (five).
The United Sabah National Organisation (USNO) and Berjasa each had two state candidates, while PCM, Perpaduan and Amanah each had one candidate respectively.
Mohd Hashim said 30 parliamentary seats would witness a straight fight, 151 three-cornered 33 four-cornered, six five-cornered and two six-cornered fights.
For the state seats, a straight fight involving 40 seats, three-cornered (343), four cornered (80), five cornered (31), six cornered (nine), and seven cornered fights (one) were recorded, he said.
Mohd Hashim said for the parliamentary seats, a total of 612 candidates were male and 75 female candidates, while the state seats comprised 1,470 male and 176 female candidates.
He said the oldest candidate contesting the parliamentary seat in GE14 was 92 years old and for a state seat 78 years old, while the youngest candidate for the parliamentary seat was 22 years and state seat 23 years old.
The date for early voting is on May 5 while polling day is on May 9.
According to the fourth quarter electoral roll for 2017 which was gazetted on April 10, the number of voters was 14,940, 624, with the total number of male voters being 7,383,437 (49.42%) and female voters 7,557,187 (50.58%).
Family ties
Candidates with family ties are seen representing various political parties, vying for parliamentary and states seats, besides standing as independent candidates in GE14.
Among those grabbing the headlines are Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali’s clash with younger brother – controversial celebrity Azwan Ali – for the Bukit Antarabangsa state seat.
Azwan, also known as ‘Diva AA’, is contesting as an independent candidate and has in the past, often criticised his brother – who is also Bukit Antarabangsa assemblyman since 2008.
In the general election this time, a five-cornered fight will ensue with both brothers facing off Salwa Yunus of Barisan Nasional (BN), Syarifah Hazlizah Syed Ariffin (PAS) and Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM) candidate Ahmad Kamarudin.
In Sabah, Sabah Heritage Party president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal will be opposing his cousin, Datuk Seri Nasir Sakaran from BN in a one-on-one rivalry for the Senallang state seat.
Mohd Shafie will also be defending his Semporna parliamentary seat. Mohd Shafie’s younger brother, BN’s Datuk Mohammad Yusof Apdal, is contesting the Lahad Datu state seat.
Meanwhile, the Kitingan siblings will also be battling for the Tambunan state seat. Tan Sri Joseph Pairin Kitingan (BN) is defending his seat against brother, Datuk Jeffrey Kitingan of Parti Solidariti Tanah Airku (Star).
In two previous general elections in 2008 and 2013, the brothers drew attention when they fought for the Keningau parliamentary seat – which saw Pairin, who was also Sabah Deputy Chief Minister, beat Jeffrey in the elections.
In the meantime, Sabah Chief Minister Tan Sri Musa Aman, who is also the state BN chairman, will defend the Sungai Sibuga state seat, while his brother, Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Anifah Aman will defend the Kimanis parliamentary seat.
Musa’s son, Yamani Hafez, will make his first appearance in the election, representing BN for the Sipitang parliamentary seat.
In Perlis, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim who is also the state UMNO Liaison Committee chairman is defending the Arau parliamentary seat, while his younger brother, Datuk Ismail Kassim will defend the Tambun Tulang state seat.
Also involved in GE14 is Tan Sri Shahrir Abdul Samad representing BN and his brother, Khalid from Amanah who will defend their Johor Baharu and Shah Alam parliamentary seats, respectively.
Compared with the BN, opposition candidates who have prominent family ties are especially those involving the ‘Anwar’, ‘Lim’ and ‘Singh’ families.
Although PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was not able to participate in the election because of his prison sentence, two members of his family – wife Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail and their eldest daughter Nurul Izzah – are contesting in the Pandan and Permatang Pauh parliamentary constituencies respectively.
Dr Wan Azizah, who is also PKR president, has moved from the Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat to contest in Pandan and PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah has moved from the Lembah Pantai parliamentary seat to contest the Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat.
The Permatang Pauh seat is PKR’s stronghold and is deemed to be the Anwar family’s traditional seat where Anwar and Wan Azizah have held the seat since 1982, including when Anwar was in BN.
Meanwhile, two members of the Lim family are contesting in Johor and Penang.
Lim Kit Siang, who is also DAP adviser, is contesting in the Iskandar Puteri parliamentary seat (formerly known as Gelang Patah) in Johor while his son, DAP secretary-general Guan Eng will defend the Bagan parliamentary seat and the Air Putih state seat in Penang.
The children of former DAP chairman, the late Karpal Singh, namely Gobind Singh Deo, Ramkarpal Singh and Jagdeep Singh Deo will defend their respective seats, namely the Puchong and Bukit Gelugor parliamentary seats and the Datuk Keramat state seat.
Other candidates with blood ties are former prime minister and PPBM chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who will be contesting the Langkawi parliamentary seat, and his son Datuk Seri Mukhriz who is vying for the Jerlun parliamentary and Jitra state seats.
Meanwhile, PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang will defend his Marang parliamentary seat while his son, who is Pas Youth state chief Muhammad Khalil will make his debut in the Batu Buruk state seat in Terengganu.
Also entering the political fray are children of the former Kelantan menteri besar, the late Datuk Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, namely Nik Mohamad Abduh, who will be PAS candidate for the Bachok parliamentary seat, while Nik Omar sparked controversy for contesting under PKR-Amanah for the Chempaka state seat.
– Bernama