Ismail to defend Bera seat in 3-way clash

Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob will be up against two contenders from Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Perikatan Nasional (PN) in his bid to defend his Bera parliamentary seat at the 15th general election (GE15).

Ismail, who has held the seat since 2004, will be challenged by Abas Awang (PH-PKR) and Asmawi Harun (PN-Bersatu).

The official list of candidates for the seat was announced by returning officer for Bera, Zaman Azam Mohamet Sarif, at 11.23am after the nomination process at the Bera District Council Convention Hall today.

Ismail and his wife Muhaini Zainal Abidin arrived at the nomination centre at 8.55am, along with three other BN candidates for state seats in the Bera constituency, as well as hundreds of supporters.

Asmawi and Abas arrived earlier at 8.30am and 8.50am respectively.

In the 2018 general election, Ismail, who is also Umno vice-president, retained the seat after defeating PKR candidate Zakaria Abdul Hamid and PAS’ Musaniff Ab Rahman with a 2,311-vote majority.

Based on the electoral roll, Bera has 77,669 registered voters comprising 73,860 normal voters, 3,521 military personnel and their spouses, 279 police personnel and their spouses, and nine overseas voters.

Meanwhile, Zaman also announced a four-cornered fight for the Guai state seat, involving Sabriah Saidin (BN), Nor Hashimahi Mat Noh (PN), Noraini Abdul Ghani (PH), and independent candidate Jafari Mohd Yusof.