Straight fight as Johan quits race
By Clara Chooi
HULU BERNAM, April 19 — In a dramatic turn of events, Johan Mohd Diah, the second independent candidate in the Hulu Selangor by-election, has withdrawn from the contest
Ironically, just two hours before he withdrew from the race at about 7.30pm, Johan had just completed an hour-long interview to the media in Felda Sungai Tengi here, expounding on his strong will to serve the people.
He had even gone as far as to thank V. S. Chandran who was the other independent candidate in the race for withdrawing his candidacy.
“I thank him very much. At least now, it gives me a bigger opportunity in the contest because the votes will only be divided three ways instead of four,” he had said.
He had also claimed he had never been approached with offers to pull out of the race, and would not accept such offers even if they were made.
Before that, Johan who is a Shah Alam Umno committee member and is currently facing a sacking from the party, had also launched his operation centre at house number 338, Desa Maju, Sungai Tengi, and his “cangkul” (hoe) campaign symbol, which he said represented the farmers.
He also launched his blog site, http://talianjohanrakyat.blogspot.com/, and said that his main campaign method was through the typical walkabouts, buntings, and through the internet via social networking sites like Facebook and My Space.
“After today, I will embark on a more aggressive campaign style to plead for votes from Hulu Selangor constituents,” he said.
At 9.30pm tonight however, Johan personally turned up at the Election Commission operation centre in Kuala Kubu Bharu about an hour away, and filed his withdrawal paper with the agency.
The deadline for candidates to withdraw is by 12 midnight tonight.
