PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang will face a former political ally and his traditional enemy as he seeks to defend his Marang parliamentary seat.

Like others in PAS, Hadi’s fight against multiple candidates will test whether the 67-year old Islamist party can go it alone in Malaysia or whether it will lose all the ground it has gained since the 2013 polls.

Hadi, who also heads a bloc of opposition parties called Gagasan Sejahtera Rakyat, will face Barisan Nasional’s Mohamad Noor Endut and Pakatan Harapan’s Zawawi Sulong.

Analysts have argued that historically, BN almost always wins when contesting against two or more opposition parties, as it splits the non-BN vote.

Hadi’s entourage was made up of a thousand-strong army of PAS supporters who marched for about 1km next to the van ferrying him and other PAS candidates for the four state assembly seats under Marang – Rhu Redang, Alor Limbat, Bukit Payong, and Pengkalan Berangan.

The PAS members accompanying Hadi chanted Islamic verses, while BN supporters who arrived earlier performed special morning prayers (solat duha) about half a kilometre outside the nomination centre.

Marang is Hadi’s home seat. The 70-year old Muslim preacher first won it in the 1995 general election.

In the 2013 polls, Hadi beat Yahya Khatib Mohamad of BN to retain Marang by a 5,124-vote majority.

Marang has over 90,000 voters, according to the latest electoral roll. – April 28, 2018.