SHAH ALAM, July 28 — A total of 138 candidates have been announced by their respective parties to compete for the 56 seats in the Selangor state election to be held on August 12.

The nomination day is tomorrow.

Pakatan Harapan (PH) which has been administering the state since 2008 has listed 44 candidates, comprising 20 from Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR), DAP (15) and Parti Amanah Negara or Amanah (nine).

The Barisan Nasional (BN) which formed a partnership with PH has named 12 candidates, thus giving PH more opportunities to maintain its dominance, especially in areas where the majority of the voters are Malay.

Perikatan Nasional (PN) which consists of three major component parties, namely Bersatu, PAS and Gerakan, has also announced fielding its candidates in all state constituencies, with 31 seats by Bersatu, PAS (17) and Gerakan (eight).

The clash between the two coalitions of giant political parties PH-BN and PN is heated up again with the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda) led by Muar Member of Parliament Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman announcing that it is fielding 14 candidates to contest in Selangor.

Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM), which is working with Muda in this coming state election, has also announced four candidates who will be fielded for the Kota Damansara, Dengkil, Meru and Kajang seats.

The race is even more interesting with Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM) also announcing its candidates to contest in eight constituencies with a focus on seats in the Klang District, namely Port Klang, Selat Klang, Sentosa and Pandamaran.

With the announcement by the political parties concerned, the Selangor state election may witness a three-cornered fight for 19 seats, a straight fight for 36 seats and a four-cornered fight for the Sentosa seat involving PH-PKR, PN/Gerakan as well as candidates from Muda and PRM.

Among the seats that may witness a three-cornered fight are Dusun Tua; Bukit Antarabangsa, Bandar Utama; Batu Tiga; Kota Anggerik; Sungai Kandis and Dengkil.

The seats that may witness a straight fight between the country's two main political rivals BN/Umno and PN/PAS will include Sabak; Sungai Panjang; Hulu Bernam; Batang Kali and Sungai Burong.

Stiff fights are also expected in the contest for the Sungai Tua, Gombak Setia, Hulu Kelang, Lembah Jaya, Semenyih, Kajang, Taman Medan, Sijangkang and Tanjung Sepat seats.

Of all the candidates that have been announced, the focus is definitely on caretaker menteri besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari (PH) who is defending the Sungai Tua seat which he won in 2008.

In this coming election, Amirudin is expected to be challenged in a straight fight by Perikatan Nasional (PN) candidate Muhammad Hanif Jamaluddin.

Another seat of interest is Hulu Kelang state seat which will see a contest between former Bukit Antarabangsa Assemblyman Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali (PN-Bersatu), the potential menteri besar candidate if PN wins, and Amirudin’s political secretary, Juwairiya Zulkifli (PH-PKR), who is the incumbent Bukit Melawati elected representative.

Tomorrow is nomination day for the state elections in Selangor, as well as in five other states, namely Kedah, Penang, Kelantan, Terengganu and Negeri Sembilan.

The nomination centres in all six states will open for one hour from 9 to 10am. — Bernama