PH set to field DAP candidate in Kuala Kubu Baharu by-election

 

Selangor PH chairman Amirudin Shari said it would be easy for PH’s leadership to decide on a candidate as BN did not ask to contest the seat.

PETALING JAYA: Selangor Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman Amirudin Shari has hinted that a DAP candidate will represent the coalition at the upcoming Kuala Kubu Baharu by-election.

The Selangor state assembly seat fell vacant after three-term assemblyman Lee Kee Hiong of DAP died on March 21 after a battle with cancer. No date has been fixed for the by-election.

Selangor menteri besar Amirudin said he believed Barisan Nasional (BN) did not ask to contest the seat, making it easier for the PH’s leadership to decide on a candidate.

“PH will maintain the existing formula, which is to stick with a DAP candidate to defend the Kuala Kubu Baharu state assembly seat,” said Amirudin in a Bernama report.

“BN did not ‘demand’ anything, and I believe that PH’s formula will remain unchanged. So, I believe DAP will still contest in that area,” he said after inaugurating an industrial park’s sales gallery in Sepang.

The PKR vice-president said PH would work hard to retain the seat and continue Lee’s legacy, adding that the coalition also wanted to continue the development programmes Lee rolled out when she first won the seat in 2013.

However, he said PH would not take Perikatan Nasional lightly. The opposition coalition had earlier said it was confident it could claim the seat.

Lee beat Gerakan’s Teoh Kien Hong by a 4,119-vote majority in last year’s Selangor state elections.

She first won her seat in 2013 after defeating MCA’s Ooi Hui Wen with a 1,702-vote majority, and defended it in 2018 with a 7,134-vote majority over MCA’s Wong Koon Mun.

The constituency has a mixed electorate comprising 50% Malay voters, over 30% Chinese voters, and 18% Indian voters.

The Election Commission will convene a special meeting on Thursday to set the dates for the by-election. - FMT