Three parliamentary seats which have top Umno leaders as incumbents have been targetted by the newly-formed Parti Mahasiswa Negara (PMN) for the coming 12 th general election setting the scene for what could be the poll’s biggest upsets.

The party’s candidates will be taking on Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi in Kepala Batas, Penang, Higher Education Minister Mustapha Mohd in Jeli, Kelantan and Education Minister Hishammuddin Hussein Onn in Semburung, Johor.

parti mahasiswa negara um meet 120208 azlan zainal The party, which has yet to be registered, has adopted the slogan of ‘Graduates with the people’ and said it aims to ensure that the voice of the nation’s graduates is heard in Parliament.

"We want to make sure that our voice is heard in the parliament. This is to protect the rights of the people and to convey the ambitions of local graduates directly to the leaders in the parliament," said party president Azlan Zainal ( pix ) in a statement today.

He said the party also championed a requirement that ministers holding education portfolios have the necessary qualifications.

"The higher education minister and education minister should at least be of professor or associate professor status or hold a doctoral degree."

The party’s intention to contest the Kepala Batas parliamentary seat, which has been the premier’s stronghold since 1978, has caused a stir in the local political scene.

"We are still very firm on our stance to challenge Pak Lah one-to-one as well as Hishammuddin and Mustapha," said Azlan.

Political awareness

He said PMN has garnered 2,000 members since its inception last month and will contest the elections cleanly to ‘open the eyes of the people and to bring changes’.

"Whether the people want to put us at the political helm and as to where they think the truth lies, we will leave it to them to decide, " added Azlan.

Launching construction for the Kok Lanas Community College yesterday, Higher Education Minister Mustapha Mohamed said BN was not afraid of a ‘mosquito party’ like PMN and stressed that political parties should register before contesting a election.

To this, Azlan said PMN saw the minister’s statement as a ‘good sign’ adding that the Universities and University Colleges Act (Uuca) should not be used to prevent graduate students from contesting the polls.

He said one of the raison d'etre of PMN was to increase the political awareness of students, which he said was dismal under the current system resulting in them being unable to choose their leaders wisely.

In a press statement released last week, the party requested the major opposition parties to make way for PMN’s one-to-one battles with the Umno giants.

PAS President Abdul Hadi Awang is widely speculated to be challenging Abdullah in his constituency while Hishammuddin is also likely to face another opposition stalwart for his seat.

Opposition parties DAP and PKR came to a consensus yesterday not to field candidates against each another for the coming polls. Whether PMN’s call for them to make way for the former’s one-to-one battles with the Umno luminaries will be given much weight remains to be seen.