New Straits Times

MOSTLY 3-CORNERED FIGHTS IN FT

4-cornered tussle in Batu after two-term incumbent Tian Chua disqualifi­ed

- B. SURESH RAM AND NOR AFZAN MOHAMAD YUSOF KUALA LUMPUR news@nst.com.my

THE majority of the parliament­ary seats in the Federal Territorie­s of Kuala Lumpur, Labuan and Putrajaya will see multi-way contests in the 14th General Election (GE14).

The shock of the day came from the P115 Batu parliament­ary seat, where two-term incumbent from PKR, Tian Chua, was disqualifi­ed, with his nomination papers rejected by the Election Commission.

The disqualifi­cation was believed to be due to Tian Chua’s sedition case conviction in 2013.

As a result, the Batu seat, establishe­d in 1959 and one of the oldest in the Federal Territorie­s, will see a four-cornered fight among Gerakan vice-president Datuk Dr Dominic Lau representi­ng BN, Azhar Yahya of Pas and independen­t candidates P. Prabakaran and V.M. Panjamothy.

The Kepong, Cheras and Seputeh parliament­ary seats will see straight fights.

The P114 Kepong seat will see a direct contest between BN’s Ong Liang Siang and PKR’s Lim Lip Eng, while in P123 Cheras, BN’s Datin Heng Sinn Yee will lock horns with PKR’s Tan Kok Wai, who is the incumbent and undefeated for the last four terms.

In Seputeh, it will be an allwomen’s fight, with BN newcomer Chan Quin Err taking on PKR’s Teresa Kok, who is defending her seat for a fifth term.

The P120 Bukit Bintang seat will see a three-cornered fight among Penang Free Party’s Khairul Husni Othman, BN’s Ann Tan Ean Ean and PKR’s Fong Kui Lun, who is the incumbent and contesting the seat for the fifth time.

The P121 Lembah Pantai seat will see one returning candidate and two new faces. BN’s Datuk Seri Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin is contesting for the second time and will face off against PKR candidate Ahmad Fahmi Mohamed Fadzil and Pas’ Fauzi Abu Bakar.

Its two-term incumbent, Nurul Izzah Anwar, will contest the Permatang Pauh seat.

The Setiawangs­a seat will also see a three-cornered fight, with BN candidate Tan Sri Zulhasnan Rafique, a former two-term Setiwangsa member of parliament, returning for the seat he last contested in 2008. He will lock horns with PKR Youth chief Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad and Pas’ Ubaid Abdul Akla.

Another three-way fight will take place in P119 Titiwangsa and sees BN’s incumbent Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani squaring off with newcomers Rina Harun of PKR and Mohammad Noor Mohammad representi­ng Pas.

Bandar Tun Razak sees BN newcomer Adnan Seman locking horns with Tumpat incumbent Datuk Kamaruddin Jaffar of PKR and Pas’ Dr Rosni Adam.

Labuan will see BN’s Datuk Rozman Isli tussle with Pas’ Ahmad Junid Mohd Aling, as well as two Sabah-based candidates — Noor Halim Zaini from Parti Warisan Sabah and Siti Zaleha S.W. Ibrahim from Harapan Rakyat.

The P116 Wangsa Maju seat will see a three-cornered fight involving BN’s Datuk Yew Teong Look with PKR’s Datin Paduka Dr Tan Yee Kew and Pas’ Razali Tumirin.

The P117 Segambut seat will see BN’s Datuk Dr Loga Bala Mohan face-off with Subang Jaya incumbent Hannah Yeoh from PKR, as well as Pas’ Muhammad Soleh Abdul Razak.

The P125 Putrajaya seat will also witness a three-cornered fight. Federal Territorie­s BN chairman Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor is being challenged by former Universiti Selangor deputy vice-chancellor Abidin Kidam of Pas and former Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia lecturer Datuk Dr Samsu Adabi Mamat from PKR.

BN, which is standing in all 13 Federal Territorie­s parliament­ary seats, will have Pas for company in nine seats, while the opposition pact is placing its bets in all seats, with the exception of Batu, which was rejected.

The opposition’s DAP candidates are sticking to their traditiona­l seats of Kepong, Bukit Bintang, Segambut and Seputeh; PKR is maintainin­g Wangsa Maju, Setiawangs­a, Lembah Pantai and Bandar Tun Razak, while PPBM, in its maiden outing, is looking at causing upsets in the Putrajaya and Titiwangsa seats.

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