Sakmongkol

DAP last night announced that it is fielding two high profile Malay candidates for its 2013 general election lineup in the frontline state of Pahang. The announcements were made by DAP Secretary General Lim Guan Eng during a packed event, one of a series of almost nightly ceramahs which have raised the mercury in the home state of the Prime Minister for the past few weeks.

Datuk Mohd Ariff Sabri Abdul Aziz, better known by his blog pseudonym Sakmongkol AK47, will stand in the Parliamentary seat of Raub in Pahang. Raub is currently being held by embattled Tourism Minister Dr Ng Yen Yen, who won by a 2,752 vote majority in 2008.

Mohd Ariff was formerly the UMNO state assemblyman for Pulau Manis from 2004-2008 and also worked as Prime Minister Najib Razak’s information chief and close aide in Pekan. He later joined DAP in January 2012 and has been active on the ceramah circuit as well as vigorously criticising the government in his blog.

Lim also announced that DAP would field Tengku Zulpuri Shah Raja Puji in the Mentakab state seat. Tengku Zulpuri is a member of the Pahang royal family and an electronics engineer by profession. He was elected Deputy Chairman of DAP Pahang.

Tengku Zulpuri will face Temerloh MCA division chief and incumbent state assemblyman Chua Boon Seong, who had won the seat with a 2,439-vote majority in the last election.

Pahang has been a hotly-watched state in the run-up to the yet-t0-be announced 2013 election, particularly since it is the home state of the Prime Minister. The Lynas rare earth plant and subsequent Himpunan Hijau movement which emerged from the anti-Lynas campaign has brought the local issues to the forefront of national politics.

Barely weeks ago, DAP announced that Himpunan Hijau Chairman Wong Tack would run in Bentong on a DAP ticket, expected to square off with MCA’s Health Minister Liow Tiong Lai. -The Rocket