Lokman is BN candidate for Sungai Kandis
SHAH ALAM: The Barisan Nasional (BN) is to field Umno Supreme Council member Datuk Lokman Noor Adam as its candidate for the Sungai Kandis state by-election on Aug 4.
BN deputy chairman and Umno deputy president Datuk Mohamad Hasan, who made the announcement, said Lokman, 45, was picked based on his extensive experience in politics and the fact that he was still young.
“We also decided to use the BN symbol in the by-election to ensure that the coalition has to be empowered and remain a party that serves the people,” said Mohamad, who is also the BN director for the by-election, at the Umno Kota Raja Division headquarters yesterday.
Nomination for the by-election is today.
Lokman, who is president of the Pemantau Malaysia Baru NGO, hails from Batu Pahat, Johor.
Mohamad said BN was contesting the by-election to gauge the extent of the people's acceptance of the coalition after the 14th General Election on May 9.
On the decision of PAS to skip the by-election, he said Umno and PAS had reached an agreement to avert three-cornered contests.
PKR announced last night that it would field Maahad Tahfiz school headmaster Mohd Zawawi Ahmad Mughni as its candidate.
The Sungai Kandis seat fell vacant following the death of the assemblyman, Mat Shuhaimi Shafiei of PKR, on July 2.
In the 14th general election on May 9, Shuhaimi retained the seat (previously known as Sri Muda) for the third term. He polled 23,998 votes to beat his challengers, Datuk Kamaruzzaman Johari of BN (11,518 votes), Mohd Yusof Abdullah of PAS (7,573 votes) and Hanafiah Husin of Parti Rakyat Malaysia (76 votes).
Sungai Kandis has 51,230 registered voters, comprising 51,217 ordinary voters and 13 absentee voters.