Shahidan to defend Arau under PN

Perlis Umno strongman Shahidan Kassim will be named as the Perikatan Nasional (PN) candidate to defend his Arau constituency, in a move likely to cost Barisan Nasional (BN) its long-held seat as well as threaten its power base in the small northern state.

Utusan Malaysia reports that Shahidan's candidacy will be officially announced tonight at an event to unveil PN candidates in the state.

Shahidan, a critic of his party boss Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, confirmed the move to field him, two days after he was dropped from BN's line-up.

He said the seat would switch to PN at the Nov 19 polls.

"God willing, apart from Arau, four state seats are in hand and another state seat is waiting," he told Utusan Malaysia.

Shahidan was among the leaders opposed to Zahid's move to cut ties with Bersatu, which together with Umno, PAS and GPS, formed the government following the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan administration in 2020.

Shahidan had also spoken out against Zahid for cooperating with PKR president Anwar Ibrahim in attempts to topple Muhyiddin Yassin as prime minister.

PN previously omitted Arau in unveiling its list of candidates, leading to speculation that the seat was being reserved for Shahidan.

Unlike most states, Perlis will hold both federal and state elections at the coming polls. The state was also one of two retained by BN in the 2018 general election which saw the coalition fall from power for the first time.