With just three more days to go before nominations have to be filed, the horse-trading over seats appears to have unsettled would-be politicians in some states. They may be fraught with anxiety, but election officers have been given reason to smile, as malaysiakini's News Roundup reveals from the day's Chinese and Malay dailies.

Umno rivalry way up north

If the BN wants to gain its projected landslide victory, it must first resolve the eager competition for seat-allocation in Kelantan and Kedah, and dissent arising from tough decisions that must be made in Perlis. In Kelantan, there are reportedly 170 nominees for only 13 parliamentary and 45 state seats. Apparently, there has been enthusiastic response to instructions for divisions to submit three names each, to show impartiality, while there has been resistance to removing the names of four division chiefs.

Another report alleges conflict within Umno. In Kedah, there is jostling among candidates trying to scramble into the 15 parliamentary and 36 state seats. In Perlis, the possible dropping of Shahidan Kassim, who has served as menteri besar, has caused discontent. - Sin Chew Daily

Um...no thanks, Kayveas!

PPP president M Kayveas is tipped to stand in the Batu Gantang parliamentary seat and, should he win, will be his party's first member of Parliament. But he has run smack into objections from the Umno division there, which is dead set against their long-held stronghold going to another party, albeit a Barisan Nasional partner. The division held a meeting attended by 98 branches, and a working committee has been set up to go on a signature drive against the decision. Earlier, representatives had been sent to Kuala Lumpur with a protest, but to no avail. - Utusan Malaysia, Sin Chew Daily

Higher allowance for election officers

Election officers in 11th general election will get double the allowance paid in 1999. The new rate for returning officers is RM300, while deputy returning officers will be paid RM210. Polling agents will now receive RM50 and cleaners, RM70. In Penang, the Election Commission has recruited 8,491 workers or an increase of 1,000 compared to 1999. This is partly due to last year's redelineation exercise which has added two parliamentary and seven state seats. Most of the workers have been recruited from the civil service and include school principals and their assistant and teachers. - Nanyang Siang Pau

No place like home

BN Kedah secretary Ahmad Lebai Sudin has announced plans to bring voters, most of whom are youths, back to their home state to ensure a strong turnout during the polls. This is in response to a suggestion by BN deputy chairperson Najib Razak (photo) that such arrangements be made. Selangor Umno Yuth has similarly set up a special task force to bring home voters who are living and working outside the state. - Utusan Malaysia

'Zong' of neutrality

Members of influential Chinese educationists groups Dong Jiao Zong and Dong Zong have been reminded that they can be concerned about politics, but should be non-partisan during the elections. Dong Zong chairperson Quek Suan Hiang said that he has privately told leaders not to do anything that could be misconstrued as taking sides. He added a caveat - that he could not restrict the right to free speech of anyone who chooses to publicly raise issues related to Chinese education. - Sin Chew Daily, Nanyang Siang Pau

Show goes on....through recycling

A makeshift PAS operations room in Kota Baru has been decorated with Chinese-style red and green decorations left over from the state government's 2003 Kelantan Chinese Cultural Show. The show has, of course, ended but the conspicuous structure seems to have inspired a second round of use. - Sin Chew Daily