State polls: Gerakan president to contest Bayan Lepas seat, confirms Hamzah

GEORGE TOWN: Gerakan president Datuk Dominic Lau has been confirmed as Perikatan Nasional's candidate for Bayan Lepas in the six state polls.

Perikatan secretary-general Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin said Lau's candidacy has been agreed by the coalition presidential council.

"This is to inform Gerakan president Senator Datuk Dominic Lau Hoe Chai will be the candidate for Bayan Lepas," he said in a statement on Thursday (July 27).

Earlier, it was believed there was a tussle over which party would contest in the Bayan Lepas in the upcoming state polls.

In a list provided to the media on Wednesday (July 26) night during the state Perikatan candidate announcement at state PAS headquarters, Lau was named as the candidate to contest in Bayan Lepas.

However, on Thursday (July 27), in a PAS WhatsApp group with media, a PAS official posted a new list stating that Lau has been moved to contest the Machang Bubok seat and his place in Bayan Lepas has been replaced by PAS state secretary Iszuree Ibrahim.

In the initial list, Tan Hum Wei was named as candidate for Machang Bubok seat, but was later replaced with Lau.

However, state PAS commissioner Muhammad Fauzi Yusoff said as of now Bayan Lepas seat will be contested by the Gerakan president and any changes on that would only be announced by Perikatan national leadership on Thursday.

"As of now we know he will be the candidate for Bayan Lepas, but I cannot confirm anything, we have to wait for the central leadership," he said.

When contacted, state Gerakan chairman Oh Tong Keong said his party president would contest in Bayan Lepas.

"This is the confirmed list," he said.

It is learnt that Lau's candidacy has not been well received by PAS Bayan Lepas who argued that the seat was in a Malay majority area and should be given to a PAS candidate.

In a protest on Thursday (July 27), they also threatened to boycott the state polls if Lau was named as a candidate.

A semi-urban seat Bayan Lepas has 64 % of Malay voters while Machang Bubok has a 53% Chinese majority.