KUALA LUMPUR: Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah is set to retain his title as the longest-serving elected representative in the country, both at the parliamentary and state levels, if he wins the Gua Musang parliamentary seat in the 14th general election on May 9.
Tengku Razaleigh who is popularly known as Ku Li, 81, will defend the seat which he first won in 1974. The seat was previously known as Ulu Kelantan.
The former Finance Minister joined Umno in 1962 and contested in the Ulu Kelantan Barat state seat in 1969 and defeated PAS candidate Hussin Abdullah.
He later moved to the Parliament seat in 1974 and since then, has remained the people’s representative for Gua Musang, including setting up the party Semangat 46 in 1989 after refusing to join Umno Baru after Umno was dissolved by the court.
In the 13th general election, he defeated PAS candidate Wan Abd Rahim Wan Abdullah with a majority of 8,413 votes.
In the up-coming GE, Tengku Razaleigh will face a three-cornered fight against Abdullah Hussein (PAS) and Mohd Nor Hussin (PKR-PPBM), becoming people’s representative for the 12th term if he wins.
DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang has also been acknowledged as a long-serving people’s representative, and has so far contested in seven different parliamentary seats in Melaka, Penang, Perak and Johor between 1969 and 2013.
During the same period, Kit Siang, 77, was defeated only once in Bukit Bendara parliamentary constituency in 1999.
For this general election, he is set to defend his Iskandar Puteri which was previously known as Gelang Patah and will become people’s representative for the 11th term if he wins.
Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak who began contesting in general elections at the age of 23, has been the people’s representative for nine terms for the Pekan parliamentary seat and for the Bandar Pekan state seat between 1976 and 2013.
In this general election, Najib who is representing BN will face a four-cornered fight in Pekan parliamentary seat, facing Zahid Mat Arip (PKR-PPBM), Ahiatudin Daud (PAS) and Datuk Paduka Abd Kadir Sainudin (Independent).
Meanwhile, former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad who last contested in a general election in 1999, had been a people’s representative for eight terms.
He started as Kota Star Selatan MP for one term in 1964 and then as Kubang Pasu member of parliament for seven consecutive terms from 1974 until 1999.
He is returning to the general election stage at the age of 92, to contest under the PKR ticket for the Langkawi parliamentary seat, facing a three-cornered fight against Zubir Ahmad (PAS) and incumbent Datuk Nawawi Ahmad (BN).
Other candidates who have long served as people’s representative include PPBM president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin who held the Pagoh parliamentary seat for seven terms since 1978.
He will go on to his eighth term if he wins the same seat in a three-cornered fight against Ahmad Nawfal Mahfodz (PAS) and Ismail Mohamed (BN) in this election this time. — Bernama