Idris in 6-cornered fight, says ‘will leave it to God’
JASIN: Former Melaka chief minister Idris Haron will face a six-cornered contest for the Asahan state seat, which is located in the Jasin parliamentary constituency. Independent candidate Mohd Akhir Ayob, an army veteran, was first to arrive at 8.10am. Idris arrived at 8.33am in an orange Baju Melayu, walking into…
JASIN: Former Melaka chief minister Idris Haron will face a six-cornered contest for the Asahan state seat, which is located in the Jasin parliamentary constituency.
Independent candidate Mohd Akhir Ayob, an army veteran, was first to arrive at 8.10am. Idris arrived at 8.33am in an orange Baju Melayu, walking into the nomination centre’s premises with his proposer and seconder.
“We leave it to God,” said the Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate, when asked by reporters about how he felt this morning.
Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate, and Melaka Umno Youth chief, Fairul Nizam Roslan arrived shortly after.
Gerakan’s Dhanesh Basil, representing PN, arrived at 9am.
He told reporters that it felt “extraordinary” to be contesting against a former Melaka chief minister, and that he was “very confident” heading into the polls.
Two more independent candidates, Azmar Abdul Hamid and Muhammad Noor Salleh, arrived at 9.10am and 9.15am, respectively.
Bukit Aman Criminal Investigation Department chief Abd Jalil Hassan also made a surprise appearance at the nomination centre, arriving at 8.55am.
It was a muted affair for all six candidates compared with previous elections, with little to no supporters accompanying them, except for their proposers and seconders.
Returning officer Luqmannulhakim Mohamad Idris confirmed that the nominations of all six candidates had been accepted.
At a brief press conference later, Idris said the crowded field showed that democracy was well and alive in Asahan.
After serving two terms as the assemblyman for Sungai Udang, this is Idris’ first time contesting elsewhere.
It is also his first time campaigning against BN and Umno after being a party member for over 30 years.
Despite opposition from DAP over fielding Idris as a PH candidate, coalition chairman Anwar Ibrahim had announced that the former Umno man would represent PKR.
In the 2018 general election, Asahan was won by Umno’s Abdul Ghafar Atan with a slim majority of 275 votes ahead of Bersatu’s Zamzuri Arifin.
Following the fall of the PH state government, Abdul Ghafar served as the housing, local government and environment executive councillor. He was not named by BN as a candidate this time around.
The Malay community makes up 64% of the constituency’s demographics, followed by the Chinese (23%), Indian (11%) and others (2%), according to general election 14 statistics. — Free Malaysia Today