AT 97, it is purely common sense that the forthcoming 15th General Election (GE15) will be the last for two-time premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad who was named the oldest candidate in the national poll when nominations came to a close yesterday (Nov 5).
For if the incumbent Langkawi MP who is defending his seat to settle some “unfinished work” can outlast another Parliamentary term, he would have already clocked 102-years-old and may as well be the oldest MP aspirant in the world should he decide to come out of retirement to contest the 16th General Election (GE16) – probably around 2027.
After securing a 8,893-majority victory in a straight fight against Barisan Nasional’s (BN) Datuk Nawawi Ahmad in the previous outing, Dr Mahathir is in for a five-cornered fight this time around.
Having already set the Guinness World Records as the oldest PM in the world when he clocked 92 years and 141 days when he became Malaysia’s PM for the second time on May 10, 2018, Dr Mahathir will square off with Datuk Armishah Sirahlj (BN), Datuk Suhaimi Abdullah (Perikatan Nasional/PN), Zabidi Yahya (Pakatan Harapan/PH) and independent candidate Abdul Kadir Sainudin.
This will be Dr Mahathir’s 11th general election outing and first as chairman of Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang) which is spearheading the Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA) coalition.
Coming in second with a dozen years of age apart is veteran politician Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah who holds the record of having served as MP for 12 consecutive terms.
The Kelantanese royalty who is affably known as Ku Li will be out defending his coveted Gua Musang parliamentary seat in the PAS-rule state in a four-cornered fight against Mohd Azizi Abu Naim (PAS), Samsu Adabi Mamat (Pejuang) and Asharun Uji (PH).
On the other side of the equation, Peggy Chaw Zhi Ting and Muhammad Syahmi Suhaimi, both aged 23, are the youngest candidates in GE15. Independent candidate Chew is contesting the Tenom parliamentary seat in Sabah while Syahmi who represents PH will be contesting the Tambun Tulang state seat in Perlis.
Chaw will be involved in a five-cornered fight against Noorita Sual (PH), Jamawi Jaafar (BN), Ukim Buandi (Warisan) and Riduan Rubin (independent). Meanwhile, Syahmi faces three other candidates in Tambun Tulang, namely Ismail Kasim (BN), Wan Zikri Afthar Ishak (PN) and Maton Din (Pejuang).
Below are more eye-catching statistics from yesterday’s nomination day courtesy of national news agency Bernana:
- A record 108 independent candidates will be contesting parliamentary seats in GE15. This is far more than the 24 who vied to become MPs in GE14 (in 2018) and 79 in GE13 (in 2013).
- The independent candidates come from various backgrounds, including activists, professionals and those axed as candidates by their parties – among them are former Batu MP Tian Chua or Chua Tian Chang (former PKR) and Padang Besar incumbent Datuk Zahidi Zainul Abidin (former UMNO).
- Batu’s 10-way tussle sees the highest number of independent candidates with four: Tian Chua; lawyer Siti Kasim or real name Siti Zabedah Kasim; social media influencer Nur Fathiah Syazwan Shaharudin or Cleopatra; and Too Cheng Huat.
- As proven in GE14, indie parliamentary candidates can win if they have something ‘special’ to offer as in the case of Batu’s incumbent P. Prabakaran, Datuk Larry Sng in Julau and Jugah Muyang in Lubok Antu. In GE15, all three of them will be defending their respective seats with Prabakaran representing PKR-PH; Sng (Parti Bangsa Malaysia/PBM) and Jugah (PN). – Nov 6, 2022
Main pic credit: AP
