Parti Keadilan Rakyat (Keadilan) today released its full list of candidates for the forthcoming polls except for two state seats in Selangor which its says are reserved for disqualified party leaders Mohd Azmin Ali and Mohd Ezam Mohd Nor.

The duo, together with Keadilan Wanita deputy chief Irene Fernandez, will know tomorrow whether the Kuala Lumpur High Court will overturn the decision of the Election Commission to bar them from standing in the election due to criminal convictions.

The Ulu Kelang state seat has been kept empty for Azmin, the incumbent, while the Cempaka seat has been reserved for Mohd Ezam. However, the Sidam state seat in Kedah, which was initially eyed by Fernandez, has now been filled by another candidate, Lim Soo Nee.

One of the biggest surprise in the list is the party's decision to field Lee Boon Chye for the Ipoh Timor parliamentary seat where DAP chairperson Lim Kit Siang will also be contesting.

Keadilan vice-president Tian Chua yesterday said the party will give way to the DAP veteran as "his presence in Parliament will strengthen the opposition." However, the latest decision now means a three-cornered fight between the duo and MCA's Thong Fah Chong, the incumbent.

ISA contestants

Among the party's top leaders, Keadilan president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail will be defending her Permatang Pauh parliamentary seat held previously by her husband and ex-deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim.

Keadilan secretary-general Abdul Rahman Othman will be contesting for the Putrajaya parliamentary seat and the Batu Tiga state seat in Selangor. He will face Umno Wilayah's chief Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansur in Putrajaya.

Tian Chua is to contest the Batu parliamentary seat and the Lunas state seat while another vice-president Sanusi Osman is slated for Lembah Pantai against Umno's Shahrizat Abdul Jalil, a two-term incumbent. The other Keadilan vice-president Xavier Jayakumar will be standing in Ampang, Selangor.

Among the women leaders, Keadilan Wanita chief Fuziah Salleh has been picked for the Kuantan parliamentary seat while social activist Siti Nor Abdul Hamid will contest the Alor Setar constituency.

Other notable Keadilan candidates are former Internal Security Act detainees Saari Sungib, who will be contesting the Paya Besar parliamentary seat in Pahang, and Badrulamin Bahron, who has been named for the Sabak Bernam parliamentary seat and the Paya Jaras state seat, both in Selangor.

Human rights lawyer R. Sivarasa has also been named by the party to contest the Petaling Jaya Selatan parliamentary constituency.

Glaring omissions

Keadilan's line-up includes several candidates who once ran under the DAP ticket.

Among them are pro-tem Parti Sosialis Malaysia leaders Mohd Nasir Hashim and Dr D Jeyakumar who will be contesting the Subang and Sungai Siput parliamentary constituencies respectively. Both had run under the DAP banner in 1999.

Most controversial though is former DAP MP Goh Kheng Huat who only last week quit from DAP acrimoniously to join Keadilan. Goh has been a thorn in the DAP leadership's side for years now because of his close relationship with Keadilan.

In addition to defending his Nibong Tebal parliamentary seat, Goh is also slated to contest the newly-created Bukit Tambun state seat in Penang. This sees a three-cornered fight involving DAP's Ng Yeow Chong and Gerakan's Lai Chew Hock.

Missing from the Keadilan list, however, is Gooi Hock Seng, another former DAP strongman who has joined Keadilan. Gooi was earlier tipped as a possible contender for the Bukit Gelugor seat where DAP has fielded veteran politician Karpal Singh.

Also excluded is Keadilan deputy president Dr Syed Husin Ali who withdrew from standing in Kota Baru, Kelantan after objections to his candidacy were raised by Kelantan Menteri Besar and PAS spiritual advisor Nik Aziz Nik Mat.

Nik Aziz had claimed that Syed Husin was an unsuitable candidate for Kelantan because apart from his so-called socialist background, he was not a local from the state. Syed Husin was replaced by Kelantanese newcomer Nik Mahmood Nik Hassan.