THE Gagasan Sejahtera coalition, a pact of three opposition parties, will be fielding five non-Muslim candidates, including a former DAP member for the general election in Selangor.
The coalition made up of PAS, Parti Barisan Jemaah Islamiah Se-Malaysia (Berjasa) and Parti Ikatan Bangsa Malaysia (Ikatan)will contest using the PAS logo for GE14.
Two names were announced earlier on April 19 while another three from Ikatan were named on Tuesday during a talk attended by PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang and former Selangor Mentri Besar Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim in Section 18, Shah Alam.
The three non-Muslim candidates from Ikatan contesting in Selangor are former Pantai Sepang DAP branch chairman Santokh Singh, 54, for Pandamaran, Datuk Seri David Sew Kah Heng, 45, (Bukit Gasing) and 35-year-old Datuk Jonathan Lim Ying Ran (Kinrara).
The names were announced by Selangor PAS commissioner Sallehen Mukhyi who said the line-up proves that PAS stands together with non-Muslims as well.
“Others talk of unity, but in truth, there is in-fighting among them. Here, we will campaign on the basis of peace and love to bring all people together. This is not just for the general election campaign,” he added.
The fielding of non-Muslim candidates was also well-received, with each candidate receiving thunderous applause as they went on stage to greet the crowd.
Other candidates for the coalition who were revealed at the event were Berjasa’s Brig-Gen (R) Datuk Hashim Abdul Karim for Selayang, Ikatan’s Datuk Seri Mohamad Badri Abdul Rahman (Subang Jaya) and Mohd Shahir Mohd Adnan (Subang) and Jefri Mejan from PAS for Ijok.
Sallehen also said he made an error earlier in announcing candidates for both Bangi and Sungai Ramal.
“Former Selangor state deputy speaker Mohd Shafie Ngah will contest Bangi while celebrity cleric Nushi Mahfodz will stand in Sungai Ramal,” he added.
Earlier, Shafie, the former assemblyman for Bangi, was slated to stand in Sungai Ramal while Nushi was to contest in the Bangi parliamentary seat.
Sallehen did not give an explanation for the swapping of seats between Shafie and Nushi.
Earlier, PAS announced two candidates from the PAS Supporters Club, Rajan Manikesavan for Sentosa (formerly Kota Alam Shah) and Kong Tuck Wah for Rawang.
Selangor Pas Supporters Club chairman Datuk K. Deepakaran, was also seated among the candidates, although his name was not announced, raising the possibility of him being a candidate as well.
Selangor PAS election director Roslan Shahir said there would be three non-Muslim candidates contesting in Selangor, adding fuel to the speculation.
Khalid, in his speech, said PAS had a fair chance of winning Shah Alam but said there was a lot of work to be done to win over the electorate.
He said Amanah was likely to get 16,000 votes due to the lack of support from PAS, Barisan Nasional will get 34,000 while PAS could get 44,000 votes.
“I also believe we will win the two state seats of Kota Anggerik and Batu Tiga,” he added.
Khalid expressed his solidarity with PAS and reaffirmed he will campaign for PAS this general election.
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