GE15: Tun M among 369 parliamentary candidates who lost deposits
KUALA LUMPUR: Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad is among 369 parliamentary candidates who lost their deposits a er obtaining less than one-eighth of the total number of votes in the 15th General Election (GE15).
The former prime minister, who contested in Langkawi on a Pejuang ticket, failed to defend the seat for the second term, securing only 4,566 votes out of 48,123 votes in a five-cornered contest.
Apart from Dr Mahathir, who is Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA) pro tem chairman, other senior Pejuang leaders who lost their deposits were his son Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir who failed to defend the Jerlun seat, and GTA deputy chairman Datuk Marzuki Yahya in Sungai Petani.
This most intense election also saw several other ‘big names’ losing their deposits, including former Minister of Plantation Industry and Commodities Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin, who secured only 4,589 votes, and former Deputy Minister of Communications and Multimedia Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin (1,939 votes). Apart from the big names in politics, among the celebrity candidates and social activists who lost their deposits were film director Ahmad Idham Ahmad Nadzri who contested in Port Dickson as a GTA candidate, and Abdul Rani Kulup Abdullah, who contested as an Independent candidate.
Meanwhile, the contest for the Batu parliamentary seat saw the biggest number of candidates losing their deposits. Ten candidates contested for the seat and eight of them lost their deposits.
They are Independent candidates Siti Zabedah Kasim, Nur Fathiah Syazwana Shaharuddin also known as Cleopatra, Chua Tian Chang and Too Cheng Huat; Wan Azliana Wan Adnan (Pejuang), Naganathan Pillai (Warisan), Mohd Zulkifli Abdul Fa ah (Party Rakyat Malaysia) and Datuk A. Kohilan Pillay (Barisan Nasional).
This GE also saw PH candidate Gobind Singh Deo securing the highest number of votes of 142,875 for the Damansara parliamentary seat, defeating two challengers who both lost their deposits.
Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) candidate Roy Angau Gingkoi won with the smallest majority of only 100 votes when he got 6,644 votes in a four-cornered fight for the Lubok Antu parliamentary seat.
Candidates are required to pay deposits of RM10,000 to contest for a parliamentary seat and RM5,000 for a state seat.