By Amar Shah Mohsen
KUALA LUMPUR — Barisan Nasional (BN) will be contesting 12 seats in Selangor for the upcoming election, with state coalition chairman Datuk Megat Zulkarnain Omardin being tasked to take on Bersatu’s Muhammad Hilman Idham in Gombak Setia.
Megat contested in the same seat in the last state election in 2018, but finished bottom in a three-horse race behind Hilman and PAS’ Hasbullah Mohd Ridzwan.
Hilman won the seat under Parti Keadilan Rakyat’s (Keadilan) banner then with a handsome majority of 12,399. However, he later defected from the party during the infamous Sheraton Move in February 2020 to join Bersatu.
BN will also be defending three out of the four seats it won in the 2018 elections, namely Sungai Air Tawar, Sungai Panjang and Sungai Burong, the only exception being Hulu Bernam.
Former state opposition leader Datuk Rizam Ismail and Datuk Mohd Imran Tamrin will respectively defend the Sungai Air Tawar and Sungai Panjang seats, while Mohamad Khir Ramli will take on Sungai Burong.
The coalition will also defend the Semenyih state constituency which it won in a by-election in 2019, with Wan Zulaika Anua given the party’s nod to contest.
One glaring omission from BN’s announcement today is state coalition treasurer Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz, who was previously rumoured to be given a seat.
This puts to bed months of speculations pertaining to Zafrul’s candidacy.
Umno secretary-general Datuk Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki also announced that BN will contest in one Pakatan Harapan seat in Selangor, namely Dusun Tua, with Datuk Johan Abd Aziz nominated by the party.
The seat is currently held by DAP’s Edry Faizal Eddy Yusof, who won with a staggering majority of 10,422 in the last election.
The other seats BN will contest in Selangor are Batang Kali, which will be represented by Datuk Mohd Isa Abu Kassim, Jeram (Datuk Jahaya Ibrahim), Kuang (Datuk Hasnal Rezua Merican Habib Merican), Selat Klang (Datuk Roslee Abd Hamid), Sijangkang (Mohd Al-Hafizi Abu Bakar) and Dengkil (Noorazli Said).
In total, the coalition will compete in 107 seats in the six state elections to be held on August 12, with 63 per cent of the candidates being new faces.
Other than the 12 in Selangor, BN announced 31 candidates for Kelantan, Terengganu (27), Negeri Sembilan (17), Kedah (15) and Penang (six).
Among the prominent figures to take part in the coming polls are Umno deputy president and Rembau MP Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, who will defend his Rembau seat in Negeri Sembilan.
State Umno chief Jalaluddin Alias, who is tipped as a possible menteri besar candidate, will contest in Pertang.
Kedah BN chief and former state menteri besar Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid will vie for the Pedu seat.
Two former Terengganu menteris besar will also throw in their hats, namely Datuk Seri Ahmad Said (Kijal) and Datuk Seri Ahmad Razif Abdul Rahman (Seberang Takir).
Former youth and sports minister Datuk Seri Reezal Merican Naina Merican, meanwhile, will run in Bertam, Penang.
