KUALA LUMPUR - Malaysia’s ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition on Tuesday cut a slew of Umno leaders who were part of caretaker Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s administration from its election line-up, as Umno president Zahid Hamidi sought to cement his grip ahead of the Nov 19 polls.
Incumbent Federal Territories Minister Shahidan Kassim, Communications and Multimedia Minister Annuar Musa, Minister of Science, Technology and Innovation Adham Baba and National Unity Minister Halimah Mohamed Sadique were all dropped from the candidate list.
Also missing from the line-up were three deputy ministers – Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Mastura Mohd Yazid, Deputy Minister for Housing and Local Government Ismail Abd Muttalib and Deputy Minister for Communications and Multimedia Zahidi Zainul Abidin.
Those who were axed from contesting in the upcoming polls are said to be close to Datuk Seri Ismail, who is a vice-president of Umno.
Mr Ismail will be defending his Bera parliamentary seat and is Umno’s prime minister candidate. This is the first time the party is going to national polls with its vice-president – not president – as the incumbent caretaker premier and stated choice to continue leading the country.
Previously, Mr Ismail had repeatedly warned against internal sabotage in Umno during what many expect to be one of the tightest elections in Malaysian history.
The caretaker Prime Minister has been locked in a power struggle with Zahid, who pushed for the general election to be held in November during the flood season despite Mr Ismail’s best efforts to delay it for as long as he could. The next general election is not due until September 2023.
Earlier on Tuesday, Zahid denied an allegation that the party’s candidates were asked to sign a letter pledging support for him and giving him the mandate to form the next Cabinet if BN wins the polls.
Meanwhile, confirming speculation, incumbent Health Minister Khairy Jamaluddin will move from Rembau to contest the Sungai Buloh parliamentary ward – a seat won by the opposition Parti Keadilan Rakyat in the last election in 2018.
Mr Khairy had told reporters in September that he had been asked to vacate his Rembau parliamentary seat, a constituency he has held since 2008, to make way for Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan.
Caretaker Finance Minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz will make his electoral debut by contesting in the Kuala Selangor ward.
Umno will be fielding Datuk Seri Sheikh Mohamed Puzi Sheikh Ali in the Pekan ward in Pahang, which is currently held by former premier Najib Razak, who has been disqualified from running after being convicted for corruption.
Earlier speculation had put Najib’s son, Nizar Najib, as a possible contender to take over the seat.
Zahid, who faces dozens of graft charges, will once again defend his Bagan Datuk ward in Perak, a seat that he has held since 1995.
Announcing the candidates’ list at the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur on Tuesday night, Zahid said: “We feel we have to obtain the people’s mandate again... People are waiting for a team who can deliver political stability and who can ensure the well-being of all Malaysians.”
However, the list just announced was missing candidates for some seats in Selangor, Terengganu and Kelantan. It is not known if these candidates will be made known before Nomination Day on Saturday.
The days leading up to Tuesday’s announcement were not without drama, as several caretaker ministers had hinted that they were being dropped and had not received an invitation to the event.
Datuk Seri Shahidan had hinted on Facebook that he had been excluded, while Tan Sri Annuar, former MP of Ketereh, earlier on Tuesday confirmed that he had not received any invitation to attend the announcement.
Meanwhile, the Malaysian Indian Congress, which is part of BN, announced at the 11th hour that the party will meet on Wednesday to decide if it will field candidates in the Nov 19 national vote. It had declined to attend Tuesday’s event.
