GE13: PKR and PAS chaos over Panti seat

(The Star) – At least 10% of the 82 parliamentary and state seats in Johor will see multi-cornered fights.

In the Panti state seat, for example, Barisan Nasional, PKR and PAS will battle it out. This came about after a PAS candidate filed his nomination papers, thinking that there was no PKR man for the seat.

However, the PKR candidate turned up five minutes before nomination closed at 10am and filed his papers.

PAS deputy commissioner Dzulkefly Ahmad, when contacted, claimed that PAS did not sabotage PKR for the Panti seat as PKR had requested for a PAS candidate as they could not find a suitable one.

The Mengkibol seat is being contested by incumbent Ng Lam Hua from DAP who has decided to fight it out as an Independent against Johor DAP Youth chief Tan Hong Ping.

This led to Johor DAP deputy chief Norman Fernandez saying that the state DAP would recommend that Ng be sacked from the party.

The Gambir state seat will see a four-cornered fight with Johor MIC secretary M. Asojan, state PAS commissioner Datuk Dr Mahfodz Mohamed and two independent candidates slugging it out.

Other “crowded” fights include the parliamentary seats of Kulai and Penggerang; the state seats include Johor Jaya, Bukit Batu, Puteri Wangsa, and Bukit Naning.

Businessman K. Surendiran, 42, is standing as an Independent in Bukit Batu and the Kulai parliamentary seat.

Overall, there are eight independent candidates, the largest number ever in Johor.