KUALA LUMPUR: A mentor will take on his protégé, a firebrand lawyer will be out to spoil their party while fashion influencer Cleopatra will be adding colour to the big contest for the Batu seat, which will see 10 contenders, the highest in the country.
In the last general election, former PKR member Chua Tian Chang, better known as Tian Chua, had endorsed and supported Independent P. Prabakaran, who went on to win.
But their relationship has soured and Tian Chua, who was disqualified on nomination day in 2018, is now standing as an Independent against the incumbent.
He faces being sacked from PKR but is adamant that he will stand and is prepared to face any action by the party.
“It will be up to the people to evaluate Prabakaran’s performance and decide whether to support him,” the former PKR vice-president said after filing his candidacy papers.
PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim said party members who contested as Independents would be automatically sacked.
“He (Tian Chua) is a firebrand and a very dedicated reformist, and this is not what a reformist should do.
“This is the tail end of his political career,” he said.
Prabakaran, meanwhile, said party talks had failed to change Tian Chua’s mind.
“He has his own views. We are talking about national interests, not selfish ones. The party decided to keep me (in Batu) and I will work on it,” he said.
Both will face a formidable foe in Barisan Nasional’s Datuk A Kohilan Pillay, who said his team was well prepared.
“It won’t be an easy task, but we are up (for) it. I am a former teacher here and many parents of the first-time voters were my students,” said the MIC vice-president.
Human rights and Orang Asli activist Siti Zabedah Kasim, better known as just Siti Kasim, was the first to arrive at the nomination centre, wearing an Orang Asli tribal headgear.
The lawyer came backed by a group from the Kelantan Network of Orang Asli Villages (JKOAK).
She will also face another lawyer in Wan Azliana Wan Adnan, former chairman of the Selangor and Federal Territories Rasuah Buster.
The 45-year-old Wan Azliana will contest for the Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA) coalition under the Pejuang banner.
The candidate who is likely to steal the headline is débutante Nur Fathiah Syazwana Shaharudin, 28, who is contesting as an Independent. She is more well known as “Cleopatra”.
The other candidates are Naganathan Pillai, who will be contesting on a Warisan ticket, Azhar Yahya (Perikatan Nasional), Mohd Zulkifli Abdul Fattah (Parti Rakyat Malaysia) and Too Cheng Huat (Independent).
One other candidate, Sao M. Mahendran, decided to opt out after hearing that Tian Chua would be contesting.
