THE 14th general election’s youngest candidate, 22-year-old P. Prabakaran, was last night endorsed by the Pakatan Harapan top leadership as the opposition’s choice for the Batu parliamentary seat.

In Taman Datuk Senu, Sentul, PH president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail called the law student the pact’s “key to success”, a nod to the independent candidate’s logo, a key.

“Batu, to show your support for PKR, you must support Prabakaran as our key candidate,” the PKR president told the crowd at the ceramah.

“Choose the key, the key to our success, so that we can win Batu, (as we will win in) Permatang Pauh, Pandan, Langkawi and all the parliamentary seats in order to change the government.”

Immediately after that ceramah, Prabakaran was taken to Hulu Langat, where PH chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad was campaigning for caretaker Selangor menteri besar Mohamed Azmin Ali.

Upon seeing Batu incumbent Chua Tian Chang, better known as Tian Chua, walking up the stage with Prabakaran, Dr Mahathir stopped his speech to welcome the duo.

“This is our candidate for Batu,” the former prime minister said, before raising Prabakaran’s hand to the cheers of 5,000 supporters.

PH is backing Prabakaran, who is in a four-cornered fight, after its original candidate, Tian Chua, was disqualified over a RM2,000 fine imposed for an offence committed last year.

Tian Chua had mounted a legal challenge, but the Kuala Lumpur High Court dismissed his suit and asked him to file an election petition instead after the polls.

In Sentul earlier, a nervous Prabakaran took to the stage, recounting his experience with the rising cost of living.

“I hate shopping with my mum because every time, she will say this item was RM5 then, but now, it is RM10.

“I realise that my parents work hard every day, but where does their income go?” he said, stuttering, to a crowd that kept cheering him on.

He said Malaysia’s brain drain is due to youth choosing not to stay in the country because they are unhappy with the Barisan Nasional government.

“They know that by working in Malaysia, there is no future, not because they hate Malaysia, but because they do not like the Malaysian government.”

Prabakaran appealed to youth who have yet to register as voters, saying he agreed to be endorsed by PH so that he can raise awareness about the importance of youth’s participation in shaping the nation.

“So, I share my ‘key’ with PH to pave the way to Putrajaya.”

Batu has 76,328 voters, 42.52% of whom are Malays, Chinese (38.28%) and Indians (17.46%). – May 7, 2018.