ALOR SETAR (July 26): Perikatan Nasional's (PN) candidates for the Aug 12 state election in Kedah were unveiled at an event attended by an estimated 10,000 people at the Kompleks PAS Kedah here on Wednesday (July 26) night.
Caretaker Kedah menteri besar Datuk Seri Sanusi Md Nor will be defending his Jeneri state seat, while former Kedah Darul Aman FC captain and Harimau Malaya captain Baddrol Bakhtiar is fielded in Gurun.
Baddrol, 35, played for Kedah between 2006 and 2021, before switching to Sabah. He was also the captain of the Malaysian Under-23 team that won the 2011 Southeast Asian Games in Jakarta.
In recent weeks, rumours have been swirling that Baddrol will be a candidate for PN in Kedah, after he quit Sabah and has been seen with PN politicians in their campaign trails in the state.
Among the 36 candidates that are being fielded by PN, five are women. They are Shamsilah Siru (Ayer Hangat), Datuk Halimaton Saadiah Saad (Bukit Kayu Hitam, incumbent), Mardhiyyah Johari (Pengkalan Kundur), Juliana Abdul Ghani (Sidam) and Siti Ashah Ghazali (Merbau Pulas, incumbent).
A total of 21 of PN's candidates in the state are from PAS, while 12 other aspirants are from Bersatu. The remaining three PN candidates are non-Malays from Gerakan, namely Chuan See Seng (Kota Darulaman), Tai Kuang Tee (Bakar Arang), and the party's liaison chairman for Kedah Wong Chia Zhen (Kulim).
PAS Kedah State Commissioner Datuk Ahmad Yahaya said the crowd on Wednesday was the largest since PAS began holding candidate announcements for Kedah at Kompleks PAS Kedah since 2004.
"This large turnout signals our determination and resolve to keep PN as the state government of Kedah," said Ahmad, who is also the Member of Parliament (MP) for Pokok Sena. He defeated Datuk Mahfuz Omar during the 15th general election (GE15) with a majority of 31,751 votes.
Earlier, PN Youth leader Ahmad Fadhli Shaari, who is also the MP for Pasir Mas, declared that the unity government coalition of Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional will be "sent to the grave" in the Aug 12 polls.
"The youth will show to them that we are not scared of them, and will ensure that the election on Aug 12 will be the end of the PH-BN coalition," he said, to the thunderous applause and chanting of "Allahu Akbar".
PN has been popular among young voters, typically those under 30 years old, according to research houses. PN's effective campaign in social media, especially tiktok, has been credited to its rise as a political force in the country.
Six states will go to the polls on Aug 12, after their respective state assemblies were not dissolved together with the Parliament and the other state assemblies during GE15 in November 2022. The states are Kedah, Penang, Kelantan, Terengganu, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan.
Prior to the dissolutions of the state assemblies, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu were ruled by PN, while Penang, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan were administered by PH.
Here is the full list of candidates from PN for the Kedah state election.
N.01 Ayer Hangat – Shamsilah Siru (Bersatu)
N.02 Kuah – Amar Pared Mahamud (Bersatu)
N.03 Kota Siputeh – Mohd Ashraf Mustaqim Badrul Munir (Bersatu)
N.04 Ayer Hitam – Azhar Ibrahim (PAS)
N.05 Bukit Kayu Hitam – Halimaton Shaadiah Saad (Bersatu)
N.06 Jitra – Haim Hilman Abdullah (PAS)
N.07 Kuala Nerang – Mohamad Yusoff Zakaria (PAS)
N.08 Pedu – Mohd Radzi Md Amin (PAS)
N.09 Bukit Lada – Salim Mahmood (PAS)
N.10 Bukit Pinang – Romani Wan Salin (PAS)
N.11 Derga – Muhamad Amri Wahab (Bersatu)
N.12 Suka Menanti – Dzowahir Ab Ghani (Bersatu)
N.13 Kota Darul Aman – Chuah See Seng (Gerakan)
N.14 Alor Mengkudu – Muhamad Radhi Mat Din (PAS)
N15 Anak Bukit – Rashidi Razak (PAS)
N.16 Kubang Rotan – Mohd Salleh Saidin (Bersatu)
N.17 Pengkalan Kundor – Mardhiyyah Johari (PAS)
N.18 Tokai – Datuk Mohd Hayati Othman (PAS)
N.19 Sungai Tiang – Abdul Razak Khamis (Bersatu)
N.20 Sungai Limau – Mohd Azam Abd Samat (PAS)
N.21 Guar Chempedak – Abdul Ghafar Saad (PAS)
N.22 Gurun – Baddrol Bakhtiar (PAS)
N.23 Belantek – Ahmad Sulaiman (PAS)
N.24 Jeneri – Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor (PAS)
N.25 Bukit Selambau – Azizan Hamzah (PAS)
N.26 Tanjong Dawai – Hanif Ghazali (PAS)
N.27 Pantai Merdeka – Sharir Long (PAS)
N.28 Bakar Arang – Tai Kuang Tee (Gerakan)
N.29 Sidam – Juliana Abdul Ghani (Bersatu)
N.30 Bayu – Mohd Taufik Yaacob (Bersatu)
N.31 Kupang – Najmi Ahmad (PAS)
N.32 Kuala Ketil – Mansor Zakaria (PAS)
N.33 Merbau Pulas – Siti Ashah Ghazali (PAS)
N.34 Lunas – Khairul Anuar Ramli (Bersatu)
N.35 Kulim – Wong Chia Zhen (Gerakan)
N.36 Bandar Baharu – Mohd Suffian Yusoff (PAS)