Who's who in the six-way Tanjung Piai rumble
KINIGUIDE | Malaysiakini's guide to the by-election's six candidates according to their place on the ballot paper.
KINIGUIDE | Nominations yesterday for the Tanjung Piai by-election saw six faces emerge to vie for the mixed constituency.
With the many faces to keep track of, here is Malaysiakini's guide to who's who according to their place on the ballot paper.
1. Wendy Subramaniam (Gerakan)
A political greenhorn, Wendy will be representing Gerakan in its first by-election after the 14th general election and the party's decision to quit BN.
She is Gerakan's deputy secretary-general but has been mostly inactive throughout her 12-year membership up until two years ago.
Gerakan is pushing for her to become the third voice against Pakatan Harapan and the BN-PAS alliances.
If the 38-year-old wins, she will be Gerakan's sole representative in the Dewan Rakyat following its crushing defeat in last year's general election.
2. Wee Jeck Seng (BN)
Wee was a two-term MP for Tanjung Piai before he was ousted last year by a narrow margin of 524 votes.
His candidacy was a late decision by BN, due to intense lobbying for Umno to contest the seat where almost 58 percent of the electorate are Malays.
Wee is well-liked even in the Malay community due to his fluency in speaking Malay as well as for catering to Muslim religious needs such as using his parliamentary allocation to send people to perform the haj.
The 55-year-old peppers his speeches in words like Insyaallah and Alhamdulillah and often touts his local roots and experience growing up in a Malay village.
And despite the tide of non-Malay support for Pakatan Harapan, Wee is estimated to have retained 30 percent of the Chinese vote in Tanjung Piai. Chinese make up some 41 percent of voters here.
3. Ang Chuan Lock (Independent)
Ang was an unexpected appearance at the nomination centre.
The tuition centre operator, too, wants to be the third voice who fights for the people.
The 49-year-old is a Tanjung Piai native who claims to be neutral and is willing to work with either side of the political divide.
His logo for the by-election is a key, which he pointed out pairs with his given name of Lock.
4. Karmaine Sardini (Pakatan Harapan)
This is the Tanjung Piai Bersatu chief's second shot at a parliament seat.
In the 14th general election, Karmaine contested the neighbouring constituency of Pontian, and narrowly lost by 833 votes to BN's Ahmad Maslan
The 66-year-old is a well known local religious figure who has served as an imam for the Al-Muttaqin Mosque in Johor Bahru besides being Johor Bersatu's Religious Bureau chairperson.
He also worked as an architectural assistant for Kuala Lumpur City Hall from 1978 to 1990.
5. Badhrulhisham Abdul Aziz (Berjasa)
The Berjasa president announced his plans to contest the by-election following BN's decision to field MCA instead of Umno.
A chemical engineer by training, Badhrulhisham said he is campaigning on a Malay-Muslim platform but denied that this was racist, saying the Federal Constitution provided for both Malay special privileges and the legitimacy of non-Malays as citizens.
He is banking on Berjasa's experience in Tanjung Piai last year when it contested under a PAS ticket and bagged 2,962 votes.
6. Faridah Aryani Abdul Ghaffar
Another surprise candidate for the by-election, Faridah was the last person to successfully submit her nomination form.
Although vague in details at first, it later emerged that she was a last-minute replacement representing cabbie group, Gabungan Teksi SeMalaysia.
She replaced Big Blue Taxi founder Shamsubahrin Ismail who has been hospitalised due to heart complications.
Faridah said she is contesting to fight for those in the B40 group.
The 45-year-old's logo for the by-election is a car.
This instalment of KiniGuide compiled by Zikri Kamarulzaman.
