Voters get fresh options as 37 new candidates debut in Negeri Sembilan’s 36-seat state election, blending experience with change.
KUALA LUMPUR: The appearance of new faces in the 16th Negeri Sembilan State Election (PRN) as a combination of old and new candidates fielded by political parties to contest the 36 State Legislative Assembly (DUN) seats is quite significant this time.
Pakatan Harapan (PH), which is contesting all 36 seats, is fielding 24 new faces, while the rest are old faces, including Negeri Sembilan PH Chairman Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun, who chose not to defend the Sekamat DUN seat and is instead contesting the Linggi DUN seat.
Among the other big names and old faces contesting on behalf of PH is DAP Secretary-General and Transport Minister Anthony Loke, who will defend the Chennah DUN seat.
Meanwhile, Barisan Nasional (BN) is fielding 13 new candidates out of its 25 candidates, while the rest are old faces, including UMNO Deputy President and Foreign Minister Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, who will defend the Rantau DUN seat.
On the other hand, Datuk Ismail Lasim is not defending the Senaling DUN seat he won in the last state election, but will instead contest the Juasseh DUN seat.
Negeri Sembilan Barisan Nasional (BN) Chairman Datuk Seri Jalaluddin Alias is contesting the Pertang DUN seat, which he won in the previous 2023 state election.
Perikatan Nasional (PN), which is contesting 11 seats, is also featuring a combination of incumbents and new faces through its component parties, including PAS, Gerakan, Parti Wawasan Negara (Wawasan), and the Malaysian Indian People’s Party (MIPP).
Meanwhile, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) Information Chief Datuk Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz is a new face among the 24 candidates fielded by the party, which is contesting using its own logo in this state election compared to the PN logo in the 2023 state election.
Negeri Sembilan Bersatu Chairman Hanifah Abu Bakar is among the party’s old faces who has been trusted to defend the Labu DUN seat.
In addition, Parti Berjasa, Parti Orang Asli Malaysia (ASLI), and Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM), which are each fielding one candidate, along with the presence of four independent candidates, are also enlivening this state election.
The PH candidate for the Gemencheh DUN seat, Datuk Abd Latiff A Tambi, 70, is the oldest candidate in this state election, while the youngest candidate is the Bersatu candidate for the Sri Tanjung DUN seat, Leevineshwaraan Murugan, who is 23 years old.
After the nomination paper submission period closed at 10 am, a total of 103 candidates representing various parties and individuals were confirmed to be contesting in the Negeri Sembilan State Election.
The Election Commission (EC) has set the early voting date for the Negeri Sembilan State Election as July 28, while polling day is on August 1.
