SHAH ALAM, 17 Feb: The former Minister of Law, Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, who offered himself to contest in the Kajang State Legislative Assembly (DUN) by-election, will lose his deposit, said political analyst.
Professor at Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM), Jayum Jawan, said that individuals contesting on their individual capacity do not have strong support to gain votes from Pakatan Rakyat and Barisan Nasional.
“Zaid Ibrahim is no longer important, jumping here and there is nothing compared to contesting against Anwar,” said Jayum, quoted from The Malay Mail Online.
Candidates contesting the by-election have to put up a deposit of RM5,000 to the Election Commission (EC), and a RM3,000 deposit for campaign materials.
Deposits will be lost when a candidate fails to receive less than one-eighth of the total electorate.
A lecturer at the Malaysian Nasional University (UKM), Datuk Dr Shamsul Amri Baharuddin, said that Zaid’s move to nominate himself for the Kajang DUN by-election will not have an impact on Anwar’s popularity.
He said that Zaid is not a politician who has a stand and has never won in the general election since 1999.
The Kajang DUN by-election will take place on 23 March, while early voting will be done on 19 March.
The Kajang DUN seat was left vacant when the previous Assemblyman, lee Chin Cheh, resigned on 27 January.
A total of 39,278 registered voters will be eligible to vote in the by-election, including 1,197 early voters and 26 voters from the absent or abroad category.
