Record 1,899 candidates in fray
(ST) – For the first time since independence, BN did not win any seat unopposed. It will be facing not just a strong opposition in every seat, but also another 167 candidates fielded by eight small independent parties and 269 candidates with no party affiliation.
As the 15-day campaign kicked off yesterday, Malaysia’s election watch enters its last lap, with a record 1,899 candidates slugging it out for the 222 parliamentary seats and 505 state seats.
For the first time since independence, BN did not win any seat unopposed. It will be facing not just a strong opposition in every seat, but also another 167 candidates fielded by eight small independent parties and 269 candidates with no party affiliation.
This is a very crowded field, compared with the 2008 polls, when there were 1,578 candidates. This time, there will be 276 multi-cornered fights, compared with 97 in 2008.
PR has embarked on a high-risk strategy of sending five big names straight into enemy territory, including four in Johor, in an attempt to make inroads. BN chose to field its top leaders in their safe seats, freeing them to move around the country to campaign.
Prime Minister Najib Razak will contest in his stronghold of Pekan in Pahang against Parti Keadilan Rakyat’s Mr Fariz Musa. Although Datuk Seri Najib will spend this weekend in Pekan, he is due to visit Sabah this week, as well as other areas where the opposition is putting up a strong fight.
Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who is contesting his old seat of Pagoh in Johor, will likely have a similarly hectic travel schedule, as will Malaysian Chinese Association president Chua Soi Lek, who is not contesting.
The opposition, especially the Democratic Action Party (DAP), will not have a similar luxury as it will have to devote much of its resources to the BN stronghold of Johor, where the DAP has fielded four top leaders, including veteran Lim Kit Siang.
Mr Lim is up against Johor Menteri Besar Abdul Ghani Othman in the Gelang Patah seat.
DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng was in Johor just hours after he filed his papers in Penang to lend his star power to kick off the campaign there.
But if the battle lines were drawn before Nomination Day, an unprecedentedly crowded field has tossed in an element of unpredictability.
Even opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim will face a three-cornered fight in his long-time seat of Permatang Pauh in Penang, against Umno’s Dr Mazlan Ismail and independent Zawawi Samsudin.
Little is known about Dr Zawawi, 45, except that he is a local doctor.
In Malaysia, where political parties command deep loyalties and have deep pockets, few independents can get very far. Of the 103 independents who contested in 2008, only two won.
“Perhaps, many independents have been emboldened to try their luck after 2008, when democratic space opened up,” said political analyst P. Sivamurugan from University Sains Malaysia.
He said they may be people with strong beliefs in their own political ideology and are putting it to a public test. But they generally do not have the resources or name recognition of political parties.
“They may not make an impact where the candidates are well known, but it could be different if both candidates have equal support,” he said.
