KUALA LUMPUR, March 31 — The DAP has named former PAS youth activist Sheikh Omar Ali as candidate for Paloh, a state seat in Johor.

Party stalwart Lim Kit Siang made the announcement at the party’s newly set up election centre in Paloh yesterday.

Sheikh Omar is widely known among the students activism circle and has worked closely with several top Pakatan Harapan (PH) leaders. He is currently DAP’s assistant publicity secretary in Johor.

"Sheikh Omar Ali is the DAP/Pakatan Harapan candidate for the Johor state assembly seat of Paloh in the forthcoming 14th general election which is expected within days,” Lim said in his speech.

Lim addressed hundreds of crowd at PH’s election centre in Paloh, a restored burnt shophouse which had been abandoned for over two decades.

The DAP veteran said the centre will be a hive of activity for political change "not only for Paloh but also for the Johor State and the Malaysian nation.”

DAP is trying hard to shed its image as a predominantly Chinese party and has repeatedly expressed commitment to field more Malay leaders in an effort to become a genuinely multiracial outfit.

Sheikh Omar’s candidacy also underscores the party’s belief that a marginal Malay vote swing towards PH would suffice to help catapult the PKR-DAP-Amanah-PPBM bloc to federal power.

Currently, all 13 of DAP Johor state lawmakers are ethnic Chinese.