MALAYSIAN United Democratic Alliance (Muda) today announced three parliamentary candidates who will be contesting against Barisan Nasional heavyweights in the upcoming general election.

In a press conference at the Muda office in Petaling Jaya, deputy president Amira Aisya Abdul Aziz said the three candidates are going to contest in rural seats where the incumbents held portfolios in the cabinet.

“We are not contesting in urban seats and these seats are not easy seats. Muda will go against BN heavyweights in this election,” said Amira.

She announced that 26 year old Danial Abdul Majid, an engineer from Penang, will go up against Reezal Merican Naina Merican who was Housing and Local Government Minister.

Teacher, Rahayu Baharin who has her own free school in Chow Kit, Kuala Lumpur will challenge Umno supreme council member Noh Omar.

Noh is the incumbent for the Tanjung Karang seat in Selangor and was also the Entrepreneur Development and Cooperative minister.

Human rights lawyer Lim Wei Jiat will contest in Tanjung Piai, a seat initially won by Pakatan Harapan in the 2018 general election.

Following a by-election in 2019, the seat was won by MCA’s Wee Jeck Seng who later became Deputy Minister of Plantation Industries and Commodities under Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s administration.

Amira said the party will make more announcements on parliamentary candidates in the near future.

She disclosed that Muda will also be contesting in Sabah and she will announce the candidate next week.

“Let it be a surprise. We will make an announcement soon where we will contest. We disclosed three tonight but will reveal more soon.”

“I can say we will contest a seat in Sabah, a rural seat and it is not going to be an easy seat. We will make the announcement on Wednesday in Kota Kinabalu,” she said.

It was reported last week that Muda had asked for less than 15 parliamentary seats in the upcoming election.

The Puteri Wangsa assemblyman in Johor said her party would meet with Pakatan Harapan (PH) again over the next few days to finalise the seats as part of its electoral pact with PH.  

Muda did not ask to be given seats held by PH in the last election.

On October 12, PH chairman Anwar Ibrahim said that the coalition would work with Muda in the upcoming election.

He added, however, that the PH presidential council decided that it would be in the form of an electoral pact, instead of accepting Muda as a component party, as that would require the approval of the Registrar of Societies. – October 29, 2022.