At least 13 incumbent BN MPs will not be defending their seats for the upcoming 15th general election on Nov 19.
They include Najib Abdul Razak (Pekan) who is incarcerated and two incumbents who have expressed a wish to retire - Idris Jusoh (Besut) and Nazri Abdul Aziz (Padang Rengas).
Only one incumbent MP was given a new seat - Khairy Jamaluddin - as he has been relocated from Rembau to Sungai Buloh.
Others who will not be defending their seats are - Tajuddin Abdul Rahman (Pasir Salak), Mastura Mohd Yazid (Kuala Kangsar), Zahidi Zainul Abidin (Padang Besar), Shahidan Kassim (Arau), Annuar Musa (Ketereh), Ahmad Nazlan Idris (Jerantut), Ismail Abdul Muttalib (Maran), Dr Adham Baba (Tenggara) and Halimah Mohamed Sadique (Kota Tinggi).
BN chairperson Ahmad Zahid Hamidi read out an almost complete list of BN candidates at the party headquarters today.
However, he did not announce BN's candidate list for Sabah because the coalition will be jointly announcing candidates with Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) at a later date.
Conspicuously missing from the list are BN’s candidates for Tumpat, Kuala Nerus, Tanjong Karang, Kepong, Jempol and Kuala Pilah.
It is also uncertain whether BN has decided on a candidate for Bandar Tun Razak. Although a candidate for the seat was in Zahid’s press handout, he did not name the candidate during his speech.
Zahid told reporters later that the remaining candidates were still being finalised.
Reshuffling
Meanwhile, BN will be reshuffling several top coalition figures.
Umno Youth chief Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki has been fielded as a candidate in Gerik, a relatively safe seat for BN in Perak. In 2018, his bid for the Pasir Puteh seat in Kelantan was unsuccessful.
Likewise, Umno vice-president Mohd Khaled Nordin will be moved from his old haunt of Pasir Gudang to the relatively safer Kota Tinggi constituency.
BN information chief Shahril Hamdan will be fielded in Alor Gajah, a seat in Malacca which looked very promising for BN after the last state polls. In 2018, he ran for the Kuala Langat seat in Selangor but lost.
Umno supreme council member Razali Ibrahim will be fielded in Pagoh, where he will take on Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin. Previously, Razali was a three-term MP for the adjacent Muar constituency.
Over at MIC, there are major changes involving central working committee members C Sivarraajh and P Kamalanathan.
Sivarraajh who won the Cameron Highlands, Pahang seat in 2018 is now being fielded in Padang Serai, Kedah instead. This is a relatively tougher seat for BN.
As for Kamalanathan, he will run for the Port Dickson seat. In previous elections, MIC fielded him in Selangor.
MCA secretary-general Chong Sin Woon will be fielded in Raub, Pahang. In 2018, he ran for the Seremban seat unsuccessfully. = Mkini
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