Lawyer, doctor shortlisted as BN candidates for Indera Mahkota
KUANTAN: A lawyer and a doctor are said to have been shortlisted as Barisan Nasional candidates for the Indera Mahkota seat in the 14th General Election (GE14).
The two are Indera Mahkota Umno deputy chief Datuk Mazlan Mat Rashid and its Health, Welfare and Non-Governmental Organisation Bureau chief Datuk Dr Johan Mat Sah.
This is based on hints from division chief Datuk Mustaffar Kamal Ab Hamid to the New Straits Times Press.
He had said those shortlisted as candidates were members of the division’s committee, who were “professionals”.
Whether it is Mazlan or Dr Johan who is chosen, BN is expected to go up against at least two other people in the race for the seat.
They are Pas information chief Nasrudin Hassan Tantawi and PKR’s Datuk Saifuddin Abdullah, both of whom contested the Temerloh parliamentary seat in the previous general election.
Saifuddin, who was then running on a BN ticket, lost to Nasrudin.
Mustaffar said BN was not worried about facing the two opposition candidates, whom, he said, were seen as having run away from Temerloh.
“We have shortlisted prospective candidates who are known to the voters, including professionals such as a doctor and a lawyer.
“They have long worked in Indera Mahkota and we dare say that 60 to 70 per cent of the voters here know them.
“Umno and BN have the support of voters who, before this, were fence sitters.”
In the 13th General Election, PKR’s Datuk Fauzi Abdul Rahman defeated BN’s Datuk Seri Wan Adnan Wan Mamat and independent candidate G. Ponusamy with a 7,523-vote majority.