Malaysiakini brings you the latest elections news and snippets from around the web - who is contesting and who’s not; who’s chosen and who’s dropped. Find out here.

Bernama

Until your lifetime, Samy Vellu tells Jeyakumar

MIC President S Samy Vellu says Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) candidate Dr D Jeyakumar can contest in Sungai Siput until his lifetime.

"He can contest 25 times or spend his entire life vying for the seat, I don't care. I'm not afraid to face him or (Datuk Seri) Anwar Ibrahim (PKR advisor) himself. I can defeat them," he said about his election opponent.

Jeyakumar will be contesting under the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) ticket.

Najib issues warning to unpicked candidates

Deputy Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak told candidates not selected for the general elections to respect the leadership's decision and not resort to sabotaging the party campaign.

Najib said they must accept the reality that others have also made way for them when they were selected as candidates before.

"It's very important to accept the leadership's decision and continue working to ensure victory for the party. In an election, changes are inevitable,” he was quoted as saying.

More independent candidates to contest in Sabah

Observers and political pundits in the Land Below The Wind predict there would be a number of independent candidates wanting to contest seats because a number of BN component party veterans were dropped from the ruling coalition's list of candidates.

"Some of them are thinking of filing nomination papers tomorrow. They know it would be an uphill task but they are doing this to register their protest over the state and party leadership's choice of candidates," said a veteran BN component party leader who declined to be named.

Sabah has 25 parliamentary and 60 state seats.

New Straits Times

PKR confident in Saifuddin

PKR has dismissed rumours that its Machang parliamentary candidate Saifuddin Nasution was planning to join PAS if he wins in the coming general election.

Kelantan PKR chairman Nik Mahmood Nik Hassan said the party is confident in the former Lunas state assemblyman and believed he would remain loyal to the party.

BN Kelantan reshuffles list as two candidates pull out

Two candidates have pulled out from the Kelantan BN list, causing a minor reshuffle in the party’s line-up.

Abdul Halim Ahmad and Dr Abdullah Sudin Abdul Rahman who were slotted to stand in the Pasir Mas and Pengkalan Chepa parliamentary seats respectively were reluctant to contest.

State BN and Umno chairman Annuar Musa said the Pasir Mas seat would now be contested by the division’s Umno youth chief, Rosdi Mahamad, who was earlier slated for the Chetok state seat.

Meanwhile, Pasir Mas division chief Abdul Rahim Abdul Rahman, who was not on the list, would stand in Chetok while Pengkalan Chepa Umno division vice-chief Rahim Othman would contest in place of Abdullah Sudin.

Pemuda Umno Online

Deputy Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin said PAS has steered away from its purpose which is to form an Islamic state.

According to the Rembau parliamentary candidate, this was evident in the party’s manifesto that was revealed recently.

“This is the first time PAS failed to stress their cause despite having the party based on an Islamic state. Their concept of a welfare state is what the BN is doing now.

“This shows they are willing to sacrifice their principles to fight for an Islamic state. This is different from Umno which is consistent in its struggle for race, religion and country,” he said.

Pemuda PAS online

PAS Youth chief Salahuddin Ayub expressed hope that former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad would help prevent Khairy from winning the Rembau parliamentary seat.

Salahuddin urges Rembau voters to ask local ‘ulamas’ (religious scholar) to seek divine guidance whether the people should vote Khairy or not.

He also assured the people that the Alternative Front will work their hardest with leaders and Umno members to deny Khairy victory.