PETALING JAYA – Perikatan Nasional announced candidates for 39 of the 40 seats it will contest in Penang next month, omitting the controversial Bayan Lepas seat.
The candidate for the seat is expected to be announced at a later date.
The seat was earlier said to be contested by Gerakan president Dominic Lau, which drew strong protest from PAS members in Bayan Lepas.
PAS had objected on the grounds that it was a Malay-majority seat and had been held by the Islamist party since the 2008 general election.
During the candidate announcement tonight, there was no mention of who would be fielded for the seat, nor was Lau named as a candidate.
However, in a copy of the candidate list made available to the media, Lau is named as the nominee for Bayan Lepas.
PAS will field candidates for 10 seats, three of which will be contested by the party’s non-Muslim supporters wing.
These are non-Malay majority seats.
Penang Gerakan chief Oh Tong Keong will be contesting the Pantai Jerejak seat, while party vice-president Datuk Baljit Singh Jigiri Singh will contest Bukit Tengah. – The Vibes, July 26, 2023