The 10 Candidates Contesting For The Hot Seat In Batu

The ten candidates will battle for the seat on 19 November.

For illustration purposes

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The nomination period for the 15th General Election (GE15) has concluded, and among the seats to watch is Batu.

The Election Commission (EC) has confirmed that 10 candidates will battle for the seat on 19 November, the day of the general election.

The 10 candidates are:

Siti Kasim – Independent
Tian Chua – Independent
Prabakaran Parameswaran – Pakatan Harapan
Zulkifli Fattah – Parti Rakyat Malaysia
Too Gao Lan – Independent
Wan Azliana – Parti Pejuang Tanahair
Ustaz Azhar Yahya – Perikatan Nasional
Nathan Batu – Parti Warisan Sabah
A. Kohilan Pillay – Barisan Nasional
Nur Fatihah Syazwana @ Cleo – Independent

GE15 is on 19 November. Image: TRP File.

What have the candidates said so far?

Lawyer and activist Siti Kasim was one of the earliest candidates to arrive at the nomination centre before it opened at 8am.

According to New Straits Times, Siti Kasim has pledged to stop the abuse of religion by politicians to ‘legitimise’ their wrongdoings.

Stemming from this issue, she wants to separate religion from politics and education.

Tian Chua decided to field as an independent candidate after getting sidelined by Pakatan Keadilan Rakyat.

He failed to defend his seat in GE14 when he was disqualified on nomination day when he was fined RM2,000 for insulting the modesty of a police officer during a rally.

Some people didn’t welcome his decision to contest as an independent candidate, with party president Anwar Ibrahim saying any PKR member contesting as an independent candidate will be sacked.

According to Free Malaysia Today, Tian Chua said he was ready to face any disciplinary action from the party.

This is a party I have a strong emotional attachment to. I love and support all PKR leaders despite the internal differences that we have. My part here (as an independent candidate) is to ensure we do not risk losing Batu to PKR’s opponents.
Tian Chua

PKR has instead put forward Prabakaran Parameswaran as its candidate. Previously, he won the seat as an independent in GE14 before joining PKR.

Zulkifli Fattah of Parti Rakyat Malaysia said his four years of experience working in the Batu parliament meant he understood the problems faced by the constituents there and could better serve them.

Lawyer and activist Wan Azliana of Pejuang said she would champion the rights of women and children if she is nominated for the seat.

A. Kohilan Pillay of Barisan Nasional previously said he was confident he could resolve a boycott by MCA members who were unhappy with his candidacy in Batu, Malay Mail reported.

But as what I’ve said earlier, I’ll use the diplomatic way in handling this matter. I will sit down and sort it out. As a former deputy foreign minister, I have experience in handling all diplomatic issues between countries and this is not a big issue for me.
A. Kohilan Pillay

Independent candidates don’t usually win, but their presence is sometimes an assuring indicator that the rakyat will stand up for themselves when needed.

Nur Fatihah Syazwana, also known as the influencer Cleopatra, contending for the seat seems like an outlier, but here we are.

According to Berita Harian, Cleopatra said she wasn’t afraid to go against the big names for the Batu seat and hoped that she would get support from the people in Batu and Sentul.

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