SEBERANG PERAI, Sept 21 ― Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM) has announced today it will be fielding a candidate in the Port Dickson by-election.
Party president Mohd Hashim Saaludin said it has shortlisted three possible candidates to contest in the October 13 by-election.
He said the party leadership will hold a meeting later today to decide on the candidate.
“We will announce our candidate in due course, we are now more than ready to face PKR in the by-election,” he told a press conference here.
Mohd Hashim said they are ready to challenge PKR’s Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim for the seat.
He said the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government has brought political and economic instability since they took over the government after the May 9 elections.
“The federal ministers announced policies without considering the people’s views on it and without looking into the possible effects of such policies,” he claimed.
He accused the government of making “u-turns” after hastily announcing policies such as the ban on foreign cooks in Malaysia and the Kuala Lumpur-Singapore High Speed Rail (HSR) project.
“They have also failed to fulfill the promises they made in their election manifesto,” he said.
In joining the fray in Port Dickson, Mohd Hashim said they will be the check and balance against PH.
“We want to continue to be the people’s voice so it is not about winning or losing for us,” he added.
Two other individuals, former MIC secretary-general G. Kumar Aamaan and Stevie Chan Keng Leong, have also announced their intentions to contest in the by-election as independent candidates.
Port Dickson parliamentary seat incumbent Datuk Danyal Balagopal Abdullah resigned as the MP for the constituency to pave the way for Anwar to return to Parliament.
Nomination for the by-election will be on September 29.
PRM contested in numerous parliamentary and state seats in Penang, Kedah and Selangor in the 14th general election but did not win any seats.
