PAS-PKR straight fight in Seri Setia race

Pakatan Harapan’s Halimey Abu Bakar (left) and PAS’s Dr Halimah Ali, at the nomination centre in MBPJ Civic Centre in Petaling Jaya

(MMO) – Pakatan Harapan (PH) and PAS will contest the Seri Setia by-election against each other without other contenders.

Election Commission (EC) returning officer Datuk Mohd Azizi Mohd Zain said the EC received two nomination papers from PH candidate Halimey Abu Bakar and PAS candidate Dr Halimah Ali at 9.10am and 9.15am respectively.

“After reviewing the nomination papers, I am satisfied with both candidates. No application is rejected for DUN N32 Seri Setia,” he said at Dewan Sivik MBPJ here today.

Halimah, when met after the announcement, said that her experience as a former state executive councillor would help in providing check and balance to the PH Selangor government.

“If you don’t give them the check and balance now, they will be complacent. Let’s say PKR succeeded in defending this seat, the candidate would have a restricted and limited voice in the Dewan.

“Stand by me and I will stand up in Dewan for you,” she said.

She, however, denied that the Islamist party was forming a pact with Umno, despite heavy presence of the Malay party’s leaders at the nomination centre.

“We want a strong Opposition bloc that is why we are not going against Umno,” she said.

Selangor Umno chief Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob, Wanita Umno chief Datuk Noraini Ahmad and Umno information chief Shamsul Anuar Nasarah were earlier spotted marching with Halimah.

Halimah’s sole contender, Halimey, said that he had previously worked closely with Seri Setia assemblyman Prof Dr Shaharuddin Badarudin before the incumbent PKR representative died on August 2, triggering the by-election.

This, the former Petaling Jaya City councillor said, had better prepared him to assume the state seat.

“I’m a local candidate with enough experience of handling local zones and the zone that I was in charge of, zone 24, happened to be located in Seri Setia.

“I will ensure that I defend this seat,” he said.

According to the EC, there are 53,492 registered voters in the constituency.

Early nomination day for the Seri Setia by-election is on September 4, while the polling day is on September 8.