Barisan Nasional (BN) will field not only winnable, but also likeable candidates in the Kuala Kangsar and Sungai Besar parliamentary by-elections, said Deputy Prime Minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

Ahmad Zahid, who is also Umno vice-president, said the BN would shortlist the potential candidates soon and announce them a week before nomination day.

“Before choosing a candidate, we will check on their background with several agencies to ensure that they are clean of all the negative aspects,” he told reporters after opening 7th National Civil Service Guidance Programme (Akrab) Convention in Putrajaya today.

The Election Commission (EC) today announced that the by-elections for the Sungai Besar (Selangor) and Kuala Kangsar (Perak) parliamentary seats would be held simultaneously on June 18, while nomination day was set on June 5.

The two seats fell vacant following the deaths of incumbents Noriah Kasnon, who was also Plantation Industries and Commodities Deputy Minister, and Wan Mohammad Khair-il Anuar Wan Ahmad in a helicopter crash in Sarawak on May 5.

Ahmad Zahid said Perak Menteri Besar Zambry Abd Kadir and Selangor Umno Liaison Committee chairperson Omar had been appointed as election directors for the by-elections, while he (Ahmad Zahid) would act as the coordinator, assisted by Umno vice-president and Defence Minister Hishammuddin Hussein.

The deputy prime minister said he also expected fierce competition in the two constituencies as both Noriah and Wan Mohammad Khair-il Anuar had won the seats only with a slim majority.

In the 13th general election, Noriah won the Sungai Besar seat by defeating PAS candidate Mohamed Salleh M Hussin with a 399-vote majority, while Wan Mohammad Khair-il Anuar won the Kuala Kangsar seat after defeating PAS candidate Khalil Idham Lim Abdullah and Independent Kamilia Ibrahim with a 1,082-vote majority.

- Bernama