Any winnable candidate welcome, PN says on Arau seat

Perikatan Nasional (PN) welcomes anyone who wants to support or join the coalition in the 15th general election (GE15), says deputy chairman Abdul Hadi Awang.

Hadi, who is also PAS president, said since Malaysian politics was quite dynamic, the doors were open to any prospective candidate capable of winning a seat for PN.

"The names of prospective candidates can change at any time before nomination day," he told reporters after the announcement of the PN candidates for Kedah parliamentary seats last night.

He said this in response to speculation that PN might offer to field Arau incumbent Shahidan Kassim who was dropped from the Barisan Nasional (BN) list of candidates.

Earlier yesterday, Perlis PN chairman Mohd Syukri Ramli was reported to have informed the PAS and PN leadership of Shahidan’s intention to defend the seat.
 
PN has announced that it will contest 169 parliamentary in GE15, with Bersatu vying for 74 seats, PAS 64, Gerakan 20 and affiliated groups 11.

For state seats in Pahang, Perlis and Perak, PAS will contest 57 seats, Bersatu 41, Gerakan 14 and affiliated groups four.

The Election Commission has set Nov 5 for nomination, Nov 15 for early voting and Nov 19 for polling.