GE13 WATCH After announcing the candidature of DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang at Gelang Patah parliamentary constituency on Monday, Pakatan Rakyat is set to boost its momentum in the southern state by announcing another heavyweight candidate with a 'Tan Sri' title, to contest the Johor Baru parliamentary seat.

The announcement will be made by PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim tomorrow evening at a ceramah held in Johor Baru.

NONE The rumour is rife that the 'Tan Sri' is none other than former army chief Gen (Rtd) Md Hashim Hussein ( centre in photo ), who joined PKR on March 6.

If the incumbent MP Shahrir Abdul Samad defends the mixed seat, with comprises more than half Malay voters, it would be a Tan Sri vs Tan Sri battle.

The Umno veteran and former minister is seen as BN's key pillar in south Johor.

He was elected as Johor Baru MP several terms, including through a by-election in 1988, when he resigned from Umno and recaptured the seat as an independent.

He retained the seat in 2008, defeating Hassan Karim from Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM) with the tremendous majority of 25,349 votes.

Sources had also told Malaysiakini that several other prominent PKR leaders will be fielded in Johor to unleash a "political storm" in the south.

Idris Jauzi or Syed Hamid for Batu Pahat?

NONE Another retired army deputy chief, Lt-Gen (Rtd) Abdul Ghafir Abdul Hamid ( left ) is tipped to contest the Pasir Gudang parliamentary constituency, another BN stronghold currently held by Higher Education Minister Khaled Nordin, who won the seat against PKR's Md Rizan Mohd Saman in 2008 with 17,281 votes.

However, sources claimed that Abdul Ghafir’s candidature has yet to be finalised.

More shocking, NGO Wadah Pencerdasan Umat Malaysia (Wadah) vice-president and former leader of Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia (Abim), Idris Jauzi, is slated to contest the Batu Pahat parliamentary seat.

The Anwar's loyalist was Biro Tata Negara deputy director-general when Anwar was in the government.

His candidature, however, sparked objections from supporters of Batu Pahat PKR division chief Syed Hamid Ali, who is the younger brother of ex-PKR deputy president Syed Husin Ali.

They have set up a Facebook webpage to support Syed Hamid as Batu Pahat candidate and to reject the “paratrooper” candidate.

“Pak Habib (Syed Hamid)  has been working hard for years, but now other people want to collect the fruits. The paratrooper candidate is a 'dato' who claimed to be PKR candidate for Batu Pahat parliamentary constituency.

“It was said that Syed Hamid has agreed and made way for him. This is another lie” reads a poster posted on the the social network.

PKR negotiating with DAP for Segamat

NONE Syed Hamid is known as a hardworking PKR grassroot leader who managed to build up a strong team in Batu Pahat comprising young professional Malay activists.

However, his socialist background would be his Achilles' heel to win the support of Malay voters in Batu Pahat, the birthplace of Umno.

The mixed seat, where Malay voters make up slightly half of the constituents, was taken by Deputy Education Minister Puad Zarkashi with 12,968 majority, by defeating PKR's Muhammad Abdullah.

Johor PKR chief Chua Jui Meng is speculated to be fielded in Segamat , after  the party agreed to give Gelang Patah to DAP.

Segamat is slated to be a winnable seat for Pakatan as Human Resources Minister S Subramaniam  won the seat with only a 2,991 majority in 2008.

Although the mixed seat with nearly 50 percent Chinese voters was traditionally contested by DAP, Anwar earlier said that PKR is negotiating with DAP to fight  for the seat in the coming polls.

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