PETALING JAYA: The Pakatan Harapan candidate for the Semenyih by-election must be ‘fit’ and ‘intelligent’ among others.
PH chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said the coalition would be on the lookout for the best candidate.
“The candidate must he fit, very intelligent, sympathetic towards the people, also towards the Press,” Dr Mahathir told a media conference after chairing the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia’s supreme leadership council meeting.
The Semenyih seat fell vacant following the death of assemblyman Bakhtiar Mohd Nor on Jan 11 from a heart attack. He was 57.
In the 14th General Election, Bakhtiar defeated candidates from BN, PAS and Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) in a four-cornered fight, with a majority of 8,964 votes. He garnered 23,428 votes.
The by-election is likely to be contested by BN, Gerakan and PH.
When asked if BN could give PH a run for its money following its victory of Malay votes in the recently-concluded Cameron Highlands by-election, Dr Mahathir said early assessment showed PH had a good chance of winning.
“We have to remember that there will be more than two parties contesting, so the Malay votes might split.
“Of course that can be bad for some parties. But we are convinced, based on our assessment, we still have a very good chance of winning.” he said.