It will be a six-cornered fight for the Tanjung Piai parliamentary seat on Nov 16.
Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) Karmanie Sardini will face candidates from Barisan Nasional, Gerakan and Berjasa and two independents in its bid to retain the seat.
The other candidates at the close of nominations this morning were Wee Jeck Seng (BN), Wendy Subramaniam (Gerakan), Badhrulhisham Abdul Aziz (Berjasa) and independents Faridah Aryani Abdul Ghaffar and Ang Uan Lock.
Their names were announced by returning officer Zulkifly Mohd Tahir, the district officer of Pontian, when nominations closed at 10.30am at Dewan Jubli Intan Sultan Ibrahim.
Defending the seat for Pakatan Harapan is Tanjung Piai Bersatu chief Karmaine Sardini, 66, a businessman with an advanced diploma in architecture from UiTM. He contested for the Pontian parliamentary seat in the last general election but lost to BN’s Ahmad Maslan by 833 votes.
Wee, 55, the Tanjung Piai MCA division chief, was the MP for the constituency for two terms from 2008 to 2018. He lost the seat to PPBM’s Dr Md Farid Md Rafik in GE14. He is a former deputy minister.
Wendy, 38, is Gerakan’s deputy secretary-general. She is a lawyer.
Karmanie was accompanied to the nomination centre by PH leaders, including PPBM president Muhyiddin Yassin, Amanah president Mohamad Sabu, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng and Johor PH chairman Jasni Mohammad. They were greeted by numerous PH supporters.
Wee was accompanied by BN leaders, including BN chairman and Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamid, MCA president Wee Ka Siong and MIC president SA Vigneswaran. Also present was former prime minister Najib Razak.
Wendy was accompanied by former Gerakan president Mah Siew Keong and other party leaders.
When drawing lots to determine the order of candidates on the ballot paper, Wendy drew first spot followed by Wee, Ang, Karmaine, Badhrulhisham, and finally Faridah.
Only these six candidates submitted nomination papers today.
Previously it was speculated that Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia (Putra) president Ibrahim Ali might would also contest.
Big Blue Taxi Services founder Shamsubahrin Ismail also previously announced plans to enter the fray but did not show up today.
One man showed up to register as a candidate but aborted his plans as he did not have a proposer. He declined to give his name to the media.
Speaking to reporters after the nomination, Badhrulhisham – who is campaigning on a Malay Muslim platform – said he will also try to woo non-Muslims.
“We will go to everyone, not just Malay Muslim but also non-Muslims to state our agenda.
“We are confident that a stable government is based on Malay Muslim unity, but without sidelining the legitimacy of citizens who are of other races and religions,” he said.
In the 14th general election, Berjasa’s Nordin Ahmad had contested Tanjung Piai on a PAS ticket, and bagged 2,962 votes.
Meanwhile, independent candidate Faridah said she is contesting to fight for the B40 group.
“We have had two governments but our (B40s) voice is not given priority. They have made promises but did not prioritise it, so we’ll do it ourselves,” the freelance social auditor told reporters.
For Ang, the tuition centre operator wants to be a third voice who fights for the people.
“I am neutral and can work with any party,” the 48-year-old said.
He said he was spurred to give politics a go following the death of incumbent MP Dr Md Farid Md Rafik.
He said his younger brother had used to work with Farid in Malacca.
Earlier, the candidates from the four contesting parties arrived at the Dewan Jubli Intan Pontian with sizeable supporters.
BN had the biggest crowd, with some 2,000 supporters followed by Harapan (1,000), Gerakan (500), and Berjasa (300).
The Tanjung Piai seat fell vacant after Farid, a deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, died on Sept 21 from heart complications.
Farid won the seat in GE14 after defeating Wee by a 524-vote margin. The other contestant was Nordin Othman from PAS.
Early voting will be held on Nov 12.
Polling day for the Tanjung Piai by-election is on Nov.
Tanjung Piai is a mixed seat with 53,528 registered voters, comprising 57% Malays, 41.66% Chinese and 1% Indians.
This is the ninth by-election held after PH took over the federal government.