No slander, no sabotage at Malaysia state polls, warn PM Anwar and DPM Ahmad Zahid

Some notable contests that will take place in Malaysia’s richest state of Selangor include caretaker chief minister Amirudin Shari’s fight to defend his Sungai Tua seat as well as the return of Selangor PN chairman Mohamed Azmin Ali for the Hulu Kelang seat. 

Mr Amirudin, from PH component party Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), will be up against PN candidate Muhammad Hanif Jamaluddin and independent candidate G Suman. 

Meanwhile, Mr Azmin will be facing PH’s Juwairiya Zulkifli who is the deputy chief of the PKR women’s wing.

Selangor, with 56 seats in its state assembly, has the most seats up for grabs in these elections. A simple majority of 29 seats is needed to rule the state. 

Separately, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is also the Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman, reminded component party members not to sabotage the coalition during the upcoming six state polls.

“So far, the party Disciplinary Board and I have not received any official report. I am only giving an impression that if there is (a case of) sabotage by the party, this is a reminder to all members. 

“If there is a report, we don’t even need to call for an investigation. If there is real evidence on social media, in video or audio recordings, we will take action,” he was quoted as saying by Bernama on Tuesday. 

Ahmad Zahid also reportedly said that this is the best time for all members to organise and mobilise the election machinery and attract support not only from staunch BN members but friends in the PH coalition, in addition to gaining the support of ‘fence sitting’ voters.

The PH coalition is working with former arch-rival BN for the first time. The unity government led by Mr Anwar will be defending the states of Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and Penang, while the opposition PN coalition is the incumbent in Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah.

Two weeks of campaigning for the six state polls kicked off on Jul 29 after candidates filed their nomination papers.