PUTRAJAYA: The Election Commission has set Nov 16 as the polling day for the Tanjung Piai by-election.
The nomination day for the by-election has been set for Nov 2 while the early voting would take place on Nov 12, said EC Chairman Datuk Azhar Azizan Harun.
The 9th by-election since the 14th General Election (GE14) last year would be held following the death of Tanjung Piai incumbent Datuk Dr Md Farid Md Rafik on Sept 21.
The 42-year-old Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department died at the Pontian Hospital due to complications stemming from a heart attack.
In GE14, Dr Farid beat Datuk Seri Wee Jeck Seng from Barisan Nasional by a slim margin of 524 votes. Dr Farid garnered 21,255 votes compared to Wee, who secured 20,731 votes.
Tanjung Piai seat has been traditionally held by the MCA since its creation in 2003, following a parliamentary constituency re-delineation exercise.
Apart from Wee, a former deputy minister under BN who won the seat for two consecutive terms in 2008 and 2013, former MCA president Tan Sri Ong Ka Ting had also held the seat for a single term when he was elected in 2004.
In GE14, the total number of registered voters in the Tanjung Piai parliamentary constituency was 53,528. Out of that figure, Malays comprised 56.8 per cent, Chinese 41.64 per cent, Indians 1.01 per cent and others 0.55 per cent.
Tanjung Piai is located 65km southwest of Johor Baru, and 30km south of Pontian and is the ‘Southernmost Tip of Mainland Asia’. It has been designated as a world heritage site since Jan 31, 2003.