Gerakan chief confirms contesting Bayan Lepas seat

 

Gerakan president Dominic Lau confirmed that he will vie for the Bayan Lepas seat in Penang, which was supposed to be contested by his ally PAS.

In a text message to Malaysiakini this afternoon, he replied, “Bayan Lepas” when asked if he would be contesting the Machang Bubok seat instead.

Lau’s team later clarified that the list showing Lau switching to Machang Bubok is fake.

Last night, Perikatan Nasional left out the name of its candidate for the Bayan Lepas seat when announcing its line-up for Penang.

In another twist, the "fake list" has been circulating in at least two PN WhatsApp groups since this morning. They include the Penang PAS media group and the "Info PRN Gerakan" group.

However, Lau later shared an "official list" with Malaysiakini, listing himself as the Bayan Lepas candidate.

This list was also posted on PN's official Facebook.

In a statement later, PN secretary-general Hamzah Zainudin confirmed that the PN presidential council had agreed to appoint Lau as the candidate for Bayan Lepas.

In this Penang state election, almost all the seats contested by Gerakan are Chinese-majority constituencies, with the exception of Lau’s. He will be the only Gerakan candidate contesting in a Malay-majority seat.

Lau is expected to face significant challenges in Bayan Lepas, not only from external opponents but also from internal dissent.

Yesterday, Bayan Lepas PAS members staged a protest threatening to boycott him if he contested the seat.

From Seberang Perai to Balik Pulau

Bayan Lepas is one of the three state seats under the Balik Pulau parliamentary constituency, which is located on the island.

On June 18, Lau indicated his intention to contest in one of the state seats in Seberang Perai.

During the 2022 general election, he said he would contest in the Bukit Tengah seat, which is located in Seberang Perai.

However, early this week there were speculations that Lau had changed his mind and is now preparing to contest in a Malay-majority seat.

According to the 2018 election data, Bayan Lepas has 65 percent Malay voters, 30 percent Chinese voters, and five percent Indian voters.

The incumbent for Bayan Lepas is Amanah’s Azrul Mahathir Aziz. - Mkini