Mahkota Polls: Straight fight between BN, PN

KLUANG: The Mahkota state seat by-election here will see a straight fight between Barisan Nasional and Perikatan Nasional.

Returning officer Azurawati Wahid announced that they have received the nomination papers from both Barisan’s candidate, Syed Hussien Syed Abdullah, and Perikatan’s candidate, Mohamad Haizan Jaafar.

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“Firstly, we received the nomination papers from Syed Hussien at 9am and Mohamad Haizan at 9.05am.

“After going through their papers and being satisfied, none of their nomination papers were rejected.

“With this, I announced that Syed Hussien of Barisan and Mohamad Haizan of Perikatan are the two candidates in the Mahkota by-election,” she added.

Azurawati, who is also Kluang Municipal Council president, said this during the announcement held at the nomination centre at Dewan Tunku Ibrahim Ismail here on Saturday (Sept 14).

Barisan’s candidate, Syed Hussien Syed Abdullah (left), and Perikatan’s candidate, Mohamad Haizan Jaafar (right).

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Barisan is banking on Syed Hussien, 40, who is also Kluang Umno youth chief, to defend the seat, while Perikatan has picked 61-year-old Mohamad Haizan, a former Johor FA footballer.

The Mahkota seat became vacant following the death of its assemblyman, Datuk Sharifah Azizah Syed Zain, 63, on Aug 2.

According to the Election Commission (EC), the electoral roll for the by-election consists of 66,318 voters, comprising 61,397 ordinary voters, 401 police personnel, 4,510 military personnel and their spouses and 10 absentee voters abroad.

Early voting is scheduled for Sept 24, involving three centres with 11 stations. The main polling day will be on Sept 28, utilising 20 centres and 109 voting stations.