Malaysia state polls: 5 contests to watch ahead of voting day

KUALA LUMPUR: More than 9.7 million Malaysians are set to head to the ballot boxes on Aug 12 in Selangor, Kelantan, Terengganu, Negeri Sembilan, Kedah and Penang to cast their votes for the state polls.

According to the Election Commission (EC), a total of 570 candidates have been accepted to contest the 245 state seats, which will be closely watched.

Pakatan Harapan (PH) will field 138 candidates, Barisan Nasional (BN) 108 candidates, Perikatan Nasional (PN) 168 candidates and Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (MUDA) 19 candidates, said EC chairman Abdul Ghani Salleh on Saturday (Jul 29). 

The unity government led by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim will be defending the states of Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and Penang, while the opposition PN coalition is the incumbent in Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah.

According to observers, the upcoming state polls are the first major electoral test for Mr Anwar’s unity government. This is despite the fact that they have no direct impact on the federal government.

The candidates for the state polls were officially announced after nomination closed on Saturday. CNA takes a look at some of the key face-offs across the six states, ahead of voting day.