Perkasa vice-president Zulkifli Noordin has been picked as the BN candidate to face Khalid Samad of PAS in the Shah Alam parliamentary seat.
This is a face-off that will see them repeat their rivalry, though this time, from opposing sides of the political divide. They were colleagues in Pakatan Rakyat at one time.
Asked last week about the possibility of his former compatriot contesting against him, Khalid had been nonplussed, but welcomed his 'friend' to his stronghold.
The people of Shah Alam know about him and Zulkifli ( right ), Khalid had said, and are mature enough to make the right choice.
Zulkifli who was 'borrowed' by PKR from PAS, won as Kulim-Bandar Baru MP in 2008, but was sacked by PKR, after which he became a BN-friendly Independent.
He was sacked for his long-standing feud with Khalid, both of whom had publicly traded barbs.
Zulkifli had even lodged a police report against Khalid and spoken out against PAS and Pakatan in 2010.
His name was announced this morning by BN head Najib Abdul Razak, who is also Selangor BN chief.
Zulkifli will be standing as an Independent, though billed by Najib as being from 'friends of BN' and thus will have the party's machinery behind his bid to capture the Malay-majority seat.
Incumbent Sepang representative Mohd Zin Mohamed, who is Selangor BN coordinator, will defend his seat.
Caretaker Agriculture and Agro-Based Industries Minister Noh Omar will stay put in Tanjung Karang.
Neither candidate, once speculated as going head-to-head for the MB's post, has been given a state seat to contest.
Glomac Bhd chief executive officer and Selangor Umno treasurer Fateh Iskandar Mansor, another person tipped for the MB's post and who was was widely expected to contest, is not on the list.
Fresh faces
This has spurred further speculation as to who will be the Selangor menteri besar should BN regain the state on May 5 since, as Najib himself noted, 80 percent of the candidates are fresh faces.
Another Umno regular who has made the cut is caretaker Deputy Minister for Energy, Green Technology and Water Noriah Kasnon (
right
), who will defend the Sungai Besar parliamentary seat that she has held for two terms.
Noriah defeated PAS candidates in 2004 and in the 'political tsunami' of the 2008 general election, with a majority of 7,000 and 11,000 votes respectively.
Some newcomers who will contest in notable seats are Nasaruddin M Zin, who will take on caretaker MB Abdul Khalid Ibrahim in the Port Klang state seat and Raman Ismail, who will face off against PKR deputy president Azmin Ali in the Gombak parliamentary seat.
Other than shiny new faces, the prevalence of Javanese names in the line-up has drawn attention, indicating the BN's priority for the main ethnic group that makes up the Selangor Malay heartland.
After losing most seats it contested in Selangor in 2008, the MCA is also fielding mainly new faces.
Caretaker Deputy Finance Minister Donald Lim is standing in Selayang, central committee member Loh Seng Kok is returning to Kelana Jaya and veteran Yap Pian Hon ( above right ) will represent the party in Serdang.
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