SEMENYIH’S BATTLE OF THE AGES
PH fields 30-year-old, PSM puts up 25-yearold, while BN names 58-year-old
IT looks like a battle of the ages as Pakatan Harapan will field the son-in-law of late assemblyman Bakhtiar Mohd Nor to defend the Semenyih state seat in the by-election.
Muhammad Aiman Zainali, 30, will take on Barisan Nasional’s Zakaria Hanafi, 58, in the March 2 polls.
Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) will field its Youth committee member, Nik Aziz Afiq Abdul, 25.
PH and BN named their picks for the by-election yesterday, while PSM had named its candidate on Wednesday night.
Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said PH had chosen Aiman, who is Hulu Langat Bersatu treasurer, as its candidate.
He said the electrical engineer, who is pursuing a doctorate in the field, was among six names submitted to PH for consideration.
Present at the announcement were PKR deputy president Datuk Seri Azmin Ali, Bersatu deputy president Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir and Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari.
Muhyiddin said all six names had been fully vetted.
“We vetted each candidate with the Insolvency Department for bankruptcy, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and the police for any serious criminal offence,” he said, adding that he then met PH chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for final approval.
In his speech before announcing the candidate, Muyhiddin said PH was confident of retaining Semenyih and urged the people and voters to give the government time to resolve issues.
“Semenyih is a testing ground for us, but please don’t forget that we inherited huge debts and a bad situation because of (the previous) kleptocratic government.”
Aiman urged Semenyih voters to believe and have confidence in him.
“Actually, you don’t have to believe me, but at least have confidence in me.”
Acting BN chairman Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said the coalition was pinning its hopes on Zakaria to secure victory for the coalition.
He said Zakaria, the former Kampung Sesapan Kelubi Umno branch permanent chairman and a Semenyih man, would be the winning factor for BN.
“Our candidate is not only accepted by locals, but also accepted by the election machinery.
“This decision was made after much consideration as we received six other nominations.
“All candidates were credible, with one even holding a doctorate in engineering. However, that was not what we were looking for.
“A candidate for assemblyman does not need to be a rocket scientist, but he must understand and know the people. We want someone who can go to the ground and convince the people to vote for BN.”
Zakaria, a former administrator at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, holds a degree in developmental science from the same university.
He was active in politics for a long while before taking a step back when working with UKM.
Mohamad urged the people to take the by-election as a referendum to show their dissatisfaction with the government for not fulfilling pledges PH made prior to the 14th General Election.
“If PH wins this seat, it won’t make any difference to them. But if BN wins this seat, it will have a large impact on politics as the people are showing their dissatisfaction with the government.”
Mohamad thanked Pas for making way for BN, saying this would ensure there would not be any competition to split the votes.
Polling is set for March 2, and nomination day is tomorrow.
The by-election is being held following the death of Bakhtiar who died of a heart attack on Jan 11.
Bakhtiar garnered 23,428 votes to beat three other candidates — Datuk Johan Abdul Aziz (BN), Mad Shahmidur Mat Kosim (Pas) and S. Arutchelvan (PSM) — by a majority of 8,964 votes in GE14 last year.