GE15: Geophysicist never expected acceptance of application to be PKR candidate

Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate for the Pagoh parliamentary seat, Iskandar Shah Abd Rahman registered to be a candidate for the PH component party on the website www.calonkeadilan.org on Oct 7, three days before Parliament was dissolved.

Being a member of PKR only for the past two years, the Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) graduate admitted that he never really became active in politics.

On 19 Oct, Iskandar Shah, 41, was contacted by a representative of PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli who informed him that his application was successful and he was offered to be a candidate for Pagoh.

"I never expected it and I was given just 48 hours to answer yes or no.,On Oct 20 I informed the party that I agreed to contest," he said when met by Bernama while doing his campaign rounds in Kampung Raja, Pagoh in here.

On Oct 6, Rafizi was reported to have said that PKR has opened an opportunity for all citizens to become the party's candidates in GE15 by registering and nominating themselves at www.calonkeadilan.org.

On his vision for the constituency, Iskandar Shah said he is focusing on three main issues which he is highlighting in his GE15 campaign, namely the empowerment of smart agriculture, dropout in education and home ownership.

Commenting on his chances of winning as he up against two "heavyweights", the greenhorn thinks it is 50-50 but for him what is important is trying to do his best.

He is up against Perikatan Nasional chairman and former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, the incumbent, and Barisan Nasional's (BN) Datuk Seri Razali Ibrahim.

Meanwhile, Razali, 52, an UMNO Supreme Council member, when met by Bernama at Kompleks Seri Pekembar, Pagoh here said he believes that he has a chance to win in Pagoh despite facing the former prime minister.

Active in politics since 1999, the former Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department said that despite having lost there n GE14, he was not nervous about facing new or old candidates for the seat.

Razali, who also had held the post of Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports, said that strengthening the road network as well as solving the issue of high house prices and flash floods in Pagoh would be among his priorities if he wins in GE15.

"I also aim to make available comfortable infrastructure, job opportunities, education, telephone line and internet coverage in addition to resolving issues involving Felda residents including in Felda Pagoh, Maokil and Lenga.

"The issue of flooding in Pagoh, for example there was no rain before, but suddenly people's houses were inundated because of the overflow of water from Sungai Muar and Sungai Segamat. For me, a good land drainage network should be in place to ensure that water from land to river and river to sea run smoothly because without this, the water will easily get stuck," he said.

Razali had won the Muar parliamentary seat three times in a row in GE11, GE12 and GE13, but in GE14 he lost to Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, the Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate from Bersatu who won with a majority of 6,953 votes.

Polling is on Saturday (Nov 19).

-- BERNAMA