NIBONG TEBAL: It is a four-corner fight for Malaysia Makkal Sakti Party president Datuk Seri R.S Thanenthiran (Barisan) as he is up against three other candidates for the seat in the 15th General Election (GE15).
Thanenthiran will be facing incumbent Datuk Mansor Othman (Perikatan), who was the former Environment and Water Ministry deputy minister as well as lawyer Fadhlina Sidek (Pakatan) and Goh Kheng Huat (Independent).
Fadhlina, 44, is PKR Wanita chief and was a Dewan Negara senator whereas Thanenthiran, 59, is a retired teacher.
Goh, 60, who was the Nibong Tebal MP from 1999 to 2004, was the second to enter the nomination centre.
"I am a local boy in south Seberang Prai. I was born and bred here. I had been a commissioner of oaths in this area for 22 years.I contested under DAP when I was the MP back then but I have not been involved in any political parties for 15 years," he said.
He added on Saturday (Nov 5) that many voters had requested for him to contest this election.
"They want to choose a better leader instead of voting for parties this time round. As there is no Chinese candidate in Nibong Tebal, I decided to contest as an independent candidate," he said.
Prior to this, Thanenthiran went to the Sri Sithi Vinayagar Temple in Butterworth before heading to the Jawi multi purpose hall to nominate himself.
He said that he vows to make Nibong Tebal a more progressive and successful area if he is elected as the people's representative.
"What is important is a pure intention, determination and working to achieve the goal," he said.
As of Sept 15, Nibong Tebal has 100,130 voters, with the Malays making up 46.72% or 46,776 voters. There were also 34,795 Chinese voters and 17,880 Indians, while the other 679 were of other races.
There are 13 parliamentary seats up for grabs in Penang – six on the island and seven on the mainland.
Before the dissolution of Parliament on Oct 10, Pakatan held 10 seats, with DAP having seven and PKR three. Perikatan and Barisan have two and one seats respectively.