00:00Two mixed seats are shaping up for multi-cornered fights in the November 14 Melaka election,
00:06with Paye Rumput and Bemban both drawing crowded fields.
00:11In Paye Rumput, PKR's Azman Abidin faces Perikatan Nasional's Rafi'i Ahmad
00:17and bersama candidate Abdul Rashid Abu Bakar.
00:21Azman, a political secretary to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim
00:25and Federal Territory's PKR chief, is contesting his first election.
00:30Paye Rumput is traditionally a Barisan Nasional stronghold,
00:34though Pakatan Harapan captured it through Bersatu in 2018.
00:39UMNO's Rais Yassin won it back in 2021 with a 629-vote majority.
00:47Over in Bemban, former state opposition leader Dr Yadzil Yaakob
00:51is seeking a second term in a four-cornered contest.
00:56The PN candidate is up against Bersatu's Rabai Abdul Hamid,
01:01bersama Dr Solehin Saleh,
01:03who is the elder brother of UMNO Youth Chief Dr Akmal Saleh
01:07and independent candidate Abdul Halim Said.
01:12Yadzil won Bemban for Bersatu in 2021 by just 328 votes,
01:17but is now Melaka Wawasan Deputy Chief after being sacked by Bersatu in February.
01:24Both seats have Malay majority electorates.
01:27Malays make up 61% of voters in Paye Rumput and 60% in Bemban,
01:33with sizable Chinese and Indian communities in both constituencies.
01:37Jasmine Christina, FMT
