NewGen Party shortlists three candidates for Kajang

The New Generation Party (NewGen Party) on Wednesday announced that it has shortlisted three candidates for the Kajang by-election.

NewGen Party secretary-general S.Gobi Krishnan said that one of the three— namely Mohd Azim Nordin, Elizabeth Lee Su Fen and Yuktes Vijay— will be the party's candidate to contest in the seat.

“These three are all young people who we believe are the best potential state assemblyman for Kajang. We are vetting them through a very strict criteria and we believe they are people able to serve in a committed manner, I want Kajang voters to have no reason to not vote for us,” Gobi Krishnan told Astro AWANI.

Gobi Krishnan said the party had previously vetted through 26 people who applied to be candidates.

Seven of those, he said, were rejected because they were already members of political parties, including MIC, DAP, PKR and UMNO.

“We wanted to make sure that none of them had any major political experience. That’s what we looked at when we asked for people from the public to be candidates,” he said, adding that all selected also had to be a Kajang resident, below the age of 40 and a graduate.

He said that the Evaluation Committee, compirising himself, Dr. Nizam Tahir (Advisor), Dr. Azhar Hamid (President), Francisco Joo Eee (Deputy President), Qasdina (Treasurer-General), Adrian Lim (Vice President) and Kamariah Ali (Vice President) and had met on Feb 17 Feb to decide on the three.

Gobi Krishnan said all three have leadership skills, can think out of the box”, and “will be a very good servant of the rakyat.”

The three shortlisted candidates will be required to attend a further evaluation process which includes a psychological test and a final interview to be conducted next week.

Gobi Krishnan said the 28-year-old Mohd Azim who holds Bachelor in Political Science “is very involved in social activism, especially at the mosque, and was a debate champion in university”.

On Lee, 31 and holds a Masters in Economics, he said “She has done some local activities in Kajang itself and she actually started free tuition in the surrounding neighbourhood.”

On Yuktes, whose real name is Yuktesvaran Malaipan, Gobi Krishnan said that the 27-year-old law graduate is already well known for speaking out in the papers.

“But that was not our criteria. We saw that he was involved in social activism, formed a non-governmental organisation and is not just supporting the government. He attacks both Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat on issues and is credible,” he said.

Yuktes is a former legal aide of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim in his sodomy trial but later turned against Anwar. He later worked with Deputy Education Minister II, P Kamalanathan.

Anwar is the Pakatan Rakyat candidate but the BN candidate has yet to announce its candidate.

Former BN and PKR leader Datuk Zaid Ibrahim has also announced his intention of contesting as an independent.

Other independent candidates include 1980s dangdut singer Herman Tino and Malaysian Indian United Party president Datuk S Nallakaruppan, who is Anwar's former tennis partner.

The Election Commission had set March 23 for the Kajang by-election.