By Sulyn Chong
BANGI, Nov 5 — The eight-cornered fight for the Bangi parliamentary seat in the coming 15th general election (GE15) shows that democracy is still alive in Malaysia, says Syahredzan Johan.
The Pakatan Harapan (Harapan) Bangi candidate said that he would not take the matter in a negative aspect.
“With there being so many nominees in Bangi, it shows that democracy in Malaysia is alive and that should be celebrated.
“I will not see this as something negative, even though as a candidate, we do hope for support from more voters. But, when there are so many candidates as you can see today, it just means that the people have more options to decide who they want to represent them in Bangi,” Syahredzan told reporters after the closing of nominations at 10am at Dewan Utama Demense in Bandar Baru Bangi, here today,
Earlier, the weather was overcast with a slight drizzle as Bangi candidates began to arrive at around 8.45am at the main entrance where the submission of nomination forms was to take place.
The 39-year-old candidate also added that he will continue to work hard and do his best to win as many votes from the roughly 300,000 voters in Bangi.
“We must not forget that there are around 300,000 voters in Bangi, which means there are a variety of people we need to connect with.
“So of course, I would have to work harder, and God willing, I will do my best in this campaign,” he said.
Syahredzan further emphasised that his main objective for this GE15 is to defend the Bangi seat which was won by Parti Keadilan Rakyat (Keadilan) back in 2008, and held on by Democratic Action Party (DAP) incumbent Ong Kian Ming for the last two terms.
Dressed in a white baju Melayu and a striking red songket pelikat, Syahredzan was the fourth person to step through the doors to submit his nomination form and was announced by the electoral council speaker at the end of the session as the seventh successful candidate to be contesting for the Bangi parliamentary seat.
This is the first election contest for the Selangor native and DAP’s Social Media Bureau chairman and he will be up against seven other candidates, three of which are independent candidates, and the other four from various parties and coalitions.
The nomination process of the GE15 candidates for the 222 parliamentary seats began at 9am today and the 14-day campaigning period will run until 11.59pm on November 18.
This is the list of candidates contesting for the P102 Bangi parliamentary seat:
- Syahredzan Johan - Harapan
- Hoh Hee Lee - Barisan Nasional
- Muhammad Nazrul Hakim - Perikatan Nasional
- Annuar Salleh - Pejuang
- Chee Chee Meng - Parti Rakyat Malaysia
- Suthan Mookaiah - Independent
- Muhammad Fauzi Hakim - Independent
- Jamal Hisham Hashim - Independent
