By Danial Dzulkifly
SHAH ALAM, July 23 – Parti Keadilan Rakyat (Keadilan) has announced its candidates to contest in the upcoming state elections in six states, with 20 names unveiled in Selangor.
Out of the 20 state seats to be contested by the Pakatan Harapan (Harapan) component party, 11 will be represented by new faces while eight will be defended by their incumbents.
Party president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim when announcing the names at Taman Awam MBSA in Section 7, here last night, said Selangor Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari will continue to defend his seat in Sungai Tua.
Among the notable new candidates to contest in Selangor is rapper turned political activist Syed Ahmad Syed Abdul Rahman Alhadad, better known as Altimet, who will run for the Lembah Jaya state seat.
The party is also fielding Dr Fahmi Ngah, the managing director of Smart Selangor Delivery Unit (SSDU), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Menteri Besar Selangor (Incorporated), to contest in Seri Setia, and 25-year-old Erni Afishah Azizi, who is the youngest candidate, for the Sementa state seat.
Other new faces include Mohd Yahya Mat Sahri for Permatang, Thiban Subramaniam for Bukit Melawati, Amidi Abdul Manan for Ijok, Mohd Kamri Kamaruddin for Bukit Antarabangsa, David Cheong for Kajang, Ahmad Akhir Paw for Taman Medan, Phua Pei Lei for Bukit Lanjan, and Aidi Amin Yazid for Kota Damansara.
Juwairiya Zulkifli, who is the incumbent Bukit Melawati state assemblyman, has been moved to contest for the Hulu Kelang state seat.
As for the incumbents, Chua Wei Kiat will be defending Rawang, Mohd Khairuddin Othman, who is also the state executive councillor for youth and sports development, for Paya Jaras, Najwan Halimi for Kota Anggerik, Azmizam Zaman Huri for Port Klang, Gunarajah R George for Sentosa, Zawawi Ahmad Mughni for Sungai Kandis, and Borhan Aman Shah, who is also the state executive councillor for culture and heritage, for Tanjong Sepat.
Anwar also said Keadilan will not run for the Batu Tuga seat to include other parties allied with the Unity Government. Its incumbent Rodziah Ismail, who is the state executive councillor for housing, is currently the Ampang MP after defeating Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin in the last 15th general election.
Meanwhile, Keadilan will contest six seats in Negeri Sembilan and Kelantan each, 13 in Penang, 10 in Kedah, and three in Terengganu.
The party also announced Mohd Azan Ismail to run for the Kuala Terengganu parliamentary seat.
The upcoming state assembly elections in the six states and the by-election for Kuala Terengganu are scheduled for August 12, with the nomination day for candidates set on July 29 and early voting on August 8.
