GE14 | PAS is set to field three candidates to face off against three caretaker ministers in Sarawak for the 14th general election, following Sarawak PAS’ announcement today of its contenders for parliamentary seats.

The Islamic party will be fielding candidates in five parliamentary seats in Sarawak - Petra Jaya, Kota Samarahan, Batang Sadong, Batang Lupar and Sibuti.

The incumbent lawmakers in Petra Jaya, Batang Sadong and Batang Lupar are caretaker federal ministers Fadillah Yusof, Nancy Shukri and Rohani Abdul Karim respectively.

The PAS candidates who are set to face the caretaker ministers in each respective constituency are Hamdan Sani (Petra Jaya), Asan Singkro (Batang Sadong), and Wan Abdullah Wan Ahmad (Batang Lupar).

The two other candidates announced by Sarawak PAS today are Zulkiflee Ramzi (Kota Samarahan) and Zulaihi Bakar (Sibuti).

Most of the candidates are entrepreneurs.

Meanwhile, when asked why PAS was only fielding five candidates in the state, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang said the decision was made out of respect for the reality in Sarawak.

"There are many bumiputera non-Muslims who still do not know about the Islamic concept, and the number of Muslims is as such (not many).

"So we are fielding candidates according to the number of Muslims (in the state).

He also cited the existence of Bersatu.

"We don't want many clashes. We want to introduce mature politics," said Hadi in a press conference in Kuching, Sarawak, after the announcement today.

When asked whether PAS was confident, given that it had never won a single seat in the state previously, Hadi claimed there was an improvement in terms of support.

"We have received the membership of those from the younger generation.

"In this coming general election, 40 percent of voters are between the ages of 21 to 40, they are the deciding factor," he said.

In the last general election, PAS had also fielded five candidates in the state. However, all of them lost.

PAS-led coalition Gagasan Sejahtera is set to contest 160 parliamentary seats in the upcoming polls.

The party contested 73 out of 222 seats in the last general election.