Amanah will be contesting in 54 seats in the coming general election but has dropped four of its incumbents.
Those dropped are Mohamed Hanipa Maidin (Sepang), Anuar Tahir (Temerloh), Hasanuddin Mohd Yunus (Hulu Langat) and Hasan Bahrom (Tampin).
In an official announcement, Amanah also confirmed that incumbent Shah Alam MP Khalid Samad will be moved to contest in Titiwangsa.
In Shah Alam, Azli Yusof, a new face, will be the candidate.
Former Malacca chief minister Adly Zahari meanwhile will be contesting in Alor Gajah.
This is a new seat for the party, which it had swapped with DAP in exchange for Jerai in Kedah.
This swap had also caused ruckus in Kedah Amanah, resulting in the party sacking its state chief Phahrolrazi Mohd Zawawi earlier today.
Amanah communications director Khalid said the party’s decision to drop the four was a transition process to encourage new talent and faces to be given a chance to contest.
“Like Hasanuddin in Ampang, Hanipa in Sepang, Hasan in Tampin, all of them had shown good performance. But based on certain calculations, we take this as an opportunity for the new faces,” he told the media at the Amanah headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.
Khalid also said that Anuar was originally listed to contest but had to be replaced due to health reasons.
Amanah secretary-general Mohd Hatta Ramli meanwhile said their number of seats for the coming polls has increased by 19 from 35 in the last general election.
Among the new seats allocated to Amanah include Langkawi and Baling in Kedah; Sri Gading, Kota Tinggi and Pengerang in Johor; Alor Gajah in Malacca; Jempol in Negri Sembilan; Sabak Bernam in Selangor; and two federal territories seats, namely Titiwangsa and Labuan.
Among other new faces Amanah is fielding include former Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission senior officer Latifah Md Yatim (Sik), and Nik Faizah Nik Othman (Pengkalan Chepa), who started the “white flag” campaign at the height of the movement-control order. – TMI