Malaysia Gears Up For Intense Political Campaign With Naming Of Candidates

KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 2 (Bernama) -- Malaysia is gearing up for an intense political campaign season in the run up to the 15th General Election (GE15) on Nov 19, with political parties and coalitions unveiling their respective candidates for the coveted 222 seats in Dewan Rakyat (House of Representatives). The United Malays National Organisation, or UMNO, which dominates the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, announced the names of its candidates Tuesday night including Malaysia’s caretaker prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob who will be defending his Bera parliamentary seat situated in the state of Pahang. Apart from BN, Perikatan Nasional (PN), another political coalition comprising of Malaysian Islamic party of PAS and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) also unveiled majority of their candidates contesting at 169 parliamentary constituencies for the GE15. PN chairman and former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin will defend his Pagoh parliamentary seat for the eighth time in the Nov 19 election. This is the first time, the former UMNO veteran, who is now Bersatu president, will defend the seat under the PN banner. Pakatan Harapan (PH), which ended BN's 60-year reign in the 2018 elections and ruled for 22 month before the coalition lost power after Bersatu and several elected representatives defected, is the earliest to announce its candidates. PH is a coalition comprising of Parti Keadilan Rakyat, DAP and Amanah. Nonagenarian Dr Mahathir Mohamad who now heads the Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA) coalition also announced the coalition’s candidates, including himself and his son. The 97-year-old said he will defend his Langkawi seat while his son, Mukhriz Mahathir, will be fielded again in Jerlun, both in the state of Kedah. Nominations for candidates must be received by noon Nov 5, paving way for a 14-day campaigning period. GE15 is expected to be held concurrently with the state elections for the state assemblies of Pahang, Perak and Perlis alongside the Bugaya by-election for the Sabah state assembly seat of Bugaya. -- BERNAMA