Several politicians staging a comeback in GE15

KUALA LUMPUR: Several politicians are staging a comeback in the 15th General Election (GE15) after a brief hiatus from the political arena.

Among them is the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate for the Kota Tinggi parliamentary seat, Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.

The UMNO vice president and former Johor Menteri Besar is facing a three-cornered fight in the polls which will be held on Nov 19.

During the GE14, Mohamed Khaled unexpectedly lost to Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate Hassan Karim in the Pasir Gudang seat with a majority of 24,726 votes and was defeated in the fight to secure the Permas state seat.

Fellow politician Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani is also returning to the battleground in the Titiwangsa parliamentary constituency in a four-cornered fight against Datuk Seri Khairuddin Abu Hassan (GTA-Pejuang), Khalid Abd Samad (PH-Amanah) and Dr Rosni Adam from Perikatan Nasional (PN-PAS).

During the GE14, Johari failed to retain the seat when he was defeated by PH's candidate, Datuk Seri Rina Mohd Harun with a 4,139-vote majority.

Also in the GE15 spotlight is PH's candidate for Pandan, PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli who did not contest in the previous polls following his disqualification as an MP after the Shah Alam Sessions Court sentenced him to 30 months in prison for revealing details of four bank accounts involving the National Feedlot Corporation in Feb 2018.

Rafizi served as the Pandan MP from 2013 until 2018.

PKR Advisory Council chairman Datuk Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail contested the Pandan seat in the GE14 under PH and emerged the winner in a five-cornered fight with a majority of 52,543 votes.

Another candidate making an appearance for GE15 contesting the Pandan constituency is former MCA president Tan Sri Ong Tee Keat who is now with Parti Warisan (Warisan), after taking a five-year break from the country's political stage.

The former Transport Minister served as the Pandan MP for two terms from 2004 to 2013.

In the Batu parliamentary seat, former PKR vice president Tian Chua Chang or Tian Chua made a surprise move by contesting as an Independent candidate in a ten-cornered fight against incumbent P. Prabakaran (PH-PKR) and four other Independent candidates namely Siti Kasim, Zulkifli Fattah, Too Gao Lan and Nur Fathiah Syazwana @ Cleo.

Other contenders are Wan Azliana Wan Adnan (GTA-Pejuang), Azhar Yahya (PN-PAS), Naganathan Pillai (Warisan) and A Kohilan Pillay (BN-MIC).

Tian Chua first contested in the Batu constituency in 2004 (GE11) but lost to Gerakan candidate Ng Lip Yong but he reclaimed the seat in 2008 (GE12) and defended it in 2013 (GE13).

Chua said he wished to return to the seat to keep his promise to voters.

He was disqualified from contesting the Batu seat following the Shah Alam High Court's decision in March 2018 which upheld his conviction for insulting the honour of a policeman.

-- BERNAMA