PETALING JAYA, July 19 — PKR and Umno will go head-to-head from this Saturday when both political parties file their nomination papers for the Sungai Kandis by-election.

The contest for the Selangor state seat is expected to be a straight fight between PKR, the multiracial party that has grown from the reformasi movement, and Umno after PAS said it will sit out this contest though it will co-operate with the Malay Muslim nationalist party with pre-Merdeka roots.

For Umno, which suffered a bruising defeat in the 14th general election, the by-election is a chance to show it is back on its feet and fit for another round in the ring.

But PKR, as the defending champion, has its gloves on and is raring to deliver a knockout blow to Umno.

While the by-election may appear to be a formality to fill the vacancy following the death of its elected representative Mat Shuhaimi Shafiei, 50, from cancer on July 2, the stakes are actually high for both parties.

Sungai Kandis is a Malay-majority seat comprising of 72 per cent Malay voters, 16 per cent Indian voters and 12 per cent Chinese voters.

Though the ruling PKR has held the seat since Election 2008, the poll this time is a barometer of the degree of voters’ acceptance of the party’s GE14 promises, and more so, the level of trust among Malay voters.

As for Umno, the poll will gauge whether Malaysians in general, and Malays in particular, have accepted its new leadership line-up after the party’s internal elections last month that saw more than half of the old guard retained.

With Datuk Seri Najib Razak out of the picture, replaced by Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Umno is keen to show its target voters, who are the Malay majority, that the party has changed, or is at least attempting a makeover in order to stay relevant in this changed political landscape.

It will want to appeal to young Malays, regardless of their educational and economic background, who are the new kingmakers in any election.

Whether this demographic group will accept the purportedly changed Umno or not, the Sungai Kandis by-election is the yardstick and the party — like it or not — will have face this reality after the August 4 vote.

Umno is expected to try and sway Malay voters by calling out the Pakatan Harapan coalition’s GE14 manifesto promises and assurances about protecting Malay privileges, though nobody is expecting an earth-shattering number of new recruits into the party.

But Umno is also facing another internal setback — the famed election machinery of its Wanita and Youth wings. Since the May 9 general election, both wings have failed to galvanise Malay support for Umno.

The stakes are truly huge for Umno and may cause severe damage to the party if it does not at least get the same number of votes — 11,700-odd — polled on May 9.