[UPDATED] GE15: crowded Batu to see historic 10-cornered fight

KUALA LUMPUR – The urban constituency of Batu here is set for an historic 10-cornered fight pitting former MP Chua Tian Chang against incumbent P. Prabakaran of PKR and independent Siti Kasim, among others.

At 10.30am today, returning officer for P115 Batu, Khairul Azmir Ahmad, announced that the following candidates will be in the running for the 15th general election.

They are:

1. Siti Kasim (independent)
2. Chua Tian Chang (independent)
3. P. Prabakaran (Pakatan Harapan-PKR)
4. Zulkifli Fattah (Parti Rakyat Malaysia)
5. Datuk Seri Stanley Too Gao Lan (independent)
6. Wan Azliana Wan Adnan (Pejuang)
7. Azhar Yahya (Perikatan Nasional-PAS)
8. Nathan Batu (Warisan)
9. Datuk A. Kohilan Pillay (Barisan Nasional-MIC)
10. Nur Fathiah Syazwana Shaharuddin (independent)

“Not a single candidate was rejected,” said Khairul Azmir.

Who are the candidates?

Siti Kasim is an outspoken lawyer and human rights activist. She is part of a loose coalition of independent candidates called Gerak Independent (GI).

She was the first to arrive at the nomination centre today and was joined by almost 20 Temiar Orang Asli supporters in traditional headgear.

Chua is a veteran activist and politician, who, in 2008, wrested the Batu seat from Barisan Nasional (BN). He is running as an independent candidate following PKR’s decision to field Prabakaran in the seat.

Earlier today in Perak, PH chairman Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim told reporters that Chua would be sacked from the party.

Prabakaran made history in 2018 when he became the youngest MP at 22 years old. He ran as an independent and won the Batu seat with a 24,438-vote majority and subsequently joined PKR four days later.

Zulkifli Fattah of PRM is listed as the secretary-general of the Minority Business Chamber.

Datuk Seri Stanley Too Gao Lan is listed as the chairman of Koperasi Grand Ages Kuala Lumpur Bhd. According to its website, Koperasi Grand Ages is “an investment holding cooperative” with interests in the US, Thailand, Indonesia, and Singapore.

Wan Azliana Wan Adnan, the candidate for Pejuang, is a lawyer at Messrs WA Wan Adnan & Associates. She is active in the Rasuah Busters NGO and also founded women’s rights NGO Aspirasi Wanita Malaysia.

Azhar Yahya is a Batu local representing PAS. He ran for the seat in 2018 and came in third with 10,610 votes. Currently, he is a senior director at Yayasan Dakwah Islamiah Malaysia.

Making his election debut is businessman Nathan Batu representing Warisan.

The BN candidate in Batu is MIC vice-president Datuk A Kohilan Pillay. A former senator and former deputy foreign affairs minister, Kohilan was once a member of Gerakan.

The final candidate is social media influencer Nur Fathiah Syazwana Shaharuddin, popularly known as Cleopatra. Running with the slogan #ResetBatu, Nur Fathiah is a member of an NGO called the Hetero Women Action Alliance. – The Vibes, November 5, 2022