KUALA LUMPUR – Voters will know tonight if their favourite Barisan Nasional (BN) candidates will be running for the 15th general election (GE15) amid speculation that bigwigs aligned with caretaker prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob will be dropped.
BN chairman and Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is expected to make the announcement at Dewan Tun Hussein Onn here.
Stirring the pot further is Arau incumbent MP Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim, who posted on his social media accounts that all election operation venues in the constituency are closed.
In a Facebook post, he said that BN flags that were put up days ago were brought down.
“Tonight is a very sad night. All Arau BN operation rooms have been closed and flags removed.
“It is a first in history.”
Yesterday, The Vibes reported that Umno insiders alleged that those perceived to be not aligned with party president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi would be axed as GE15 candidates.
Big names such as Selangor Umno chief Tan Sri Noh Omar as well as incumbent Pasir Salak MP Datuk Seri Tajuddin Abdul Rahman would be given the boot.
The same goes for Shahidan, incumbent Ketereh MP Tan Sri Annuar Musa, Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba (Tenggara), Datuk Halimah Mohamed Sadique (Kota Tinggi) and Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin (Padang Besar).
It was rumoured that former Johor menteri besar Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin was to be fielded in Kota Tinggi while Zahidi would be replaced by Puteri Umno chief Datuk Zahida Zarik Khan.
Malaysians will head to the ballot box on November 19 while early polling is on November 15.
Nomination day is on Saturday. – The Vibes, November 1, 2022
