DAP to contest eight state seats in Pahang, fields two new faces

At tonight's Pahang DAP candidate announcement ceremony, DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke Siew Fook introduced lawyer Muhammad Khairil Khalid, 33, who will contest in Pulau Manis and Ho Chi Yang, 27, special officer to Tanah Rata assemblyman Chiong Yoke Kong, who will defend the seat there.

Meanwhile, the task of defending Ketari will fall on party heavyweight, Thomas Su Keong Siong, former Kampar MP and a member of the party's central executive committee.

Four other candidates announced today were incumbents defending their state seats, Woo Chee Wan (Mentakab), Leong Yu Man (Triang), Lee Chin Chen (Bilut) and D. Kamache (Sabai).

Also, DAP deputy secretary-general Tengku Zulpuri Shah Raja Puji, who has been slated to contest for the Lipis parliamentary seat, will also be fielded in Tras, a state seat won previously by the party.

DAP will also field candidates in three other parliamentary constituencies besides Lipis in GE15, Chiong Yoke Keong in Cameron Highlands, Chow Yu Hui (Raub) and Young Syefura Othman (Bentong).

Loke in his speech expressed hope that the party would defend all seven state seats in Pahang and wrestle Cameron Highlands and Lipis parliamentary seats, along with the Pulau Manis state seat from Barisan Nasional (BN).

Meanwhile, Subang Jaya-born Muhammad Khairil, admitted that he faces a tough challenge as the Pulau Manis state seat was part of the Pekan parliamentary constituency, a traditional BN stronghold.

Muhammad Khairil joined politics in 2013 and has held the post of research officer for the Selangor Speaker's Office for two years from 2014.

Ho, who hails from Perak, said that his experience as a special officer was a bonus for him as it had helped him understand the local situation there.