DAP secretary-general Loke Siew Fook will face MCA candidate Siow Kong Choon in a straight fight for the Chennah seat in the Negeri Sembilan state election.
Loke, who is also transport minister, submitted his nomination papers at the Dewan Majlis Daerah Jelebu accompanied by DAP chairman Gobind Singh Deo, DAP national adviser Lim Guan Eng and Amanah president Mohamad Sabu.
He has represented Chennah since 2013 and is seeking a fourth consecutive term as its assemblyman. If successful, it will be his sixth term in the Negeri Sembilan state assembly, having previously served two terms as the Lobak assemblyman from 2004.
Chennah is a mixed constituency under the Jelebu parliamentary seat. Malay voters make up about 46 per cent of the electorate, followed by Chinese at 44 per cent, Orang Asli at 5.9 per cent and Indians at 2.1 per cent.
Loke retained the seat in the 2023 state election with a 2,200-vote majority over the Perikatan Nasional candidate when Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional (BN) contested as allies.
Aminuddin takes on Linggi challenge
Meanwhile, Negeri Sembilan PH chairman Aminuddin Harun will contest the Linggi seat in a three-cornered race against BN’s Faizal Ramli and Bersatu’s Zamri Said.
The two-term Negeri Sembilan menteri besar previously represented Sikamat for four consecutive terms before deciding to contest in Linggi, an Umno stronghold.
Aminuddin has said the move from Sikamat, widely regarded as a PH stronghold, was his own decision.
Key battlegrounds in the state election
Linggi is a Malay-majority constituency, with Malays making up 60 per cent of voters, followed by Indians at 17.9 per cent, Chinese at 17.5 per cent and Orang Asli at 1.4 per cent.
The seat is located within the Port Dickson parliamentary constituency, which Aminuddin has represented since 2022.
Linggi has been held by Umno since it was first contested in 1959, except for one term between 1971 and 1974 when it was won by DAP.
Faizal retained Linggi for BN in the 2023 state election with a 1,461-vote majority over Perikatan Nasional when BN and PH were allies.
In the current state election, BN is cooperating with Perikatan Nasional, while PH is contesting all 36 seats on its own.
The Negeri Sembilan state election will be held on Aug 1, with early voting scheduled for July 28.
