The upcoming Bukit Selambau by-election is no longer a Barisan vs Pakatan battle as more Independent candidates throw their names into the hat.

bukit selambau independent candidate tan hock huat 090309 no to frog Among the Independent candidates is Tan Hock Huat, who is the first independent Chinese candidate to announce his candidacy.

Along with his family and his multi-racial supporters, Tan held a press conference on Sunday to announce his decision.

Based on information from his blog-spot, he cited the five principles of the Rukunegara in pledging that he would do his best to abolish the party-hopping culture and money politics.

Two toy frogs in a cage

“How can we assist them to re-establish the right political culture?” said Tan.

“Most people will not admit that they are lost because they do not realise that they have already diverted from the path.”

bukit selambau independent candidate tan hock huat 090309 frog and cage 02 Meanwhile, to show that he is not giving empty promises, Tan used a rather creative way to symbolise his promise to the people.

He took out an empty cage and threw in two toy frogs, followed by a stack of fake dollar notes used in the Monopoly board game.

As to whether he is able to abolish the 'frog culture', he said that it is possible “if we all stand strong to protect the country’s principles”.

“I will represent what is truthful, I'm contesting not for the sake of the seat but to guard the country’s principles,” said the former Gerakan member.

Tan was an active Gerakan member for eight years since 1995, but has since resigned from the party.

13 nomination forms sold

Tan also introduced two blog sites for voters to communicate with the operation centres. However, one of the sites currently has only five postings and has no comments from voters.

According to Kedah Election Committee director, Zainal Abidin Zakaria, the committee has sold 13 forms to eight Indian Malaysians, three Malays and a Chinese.

However, as at last Wednesday, only P Chandrarajan had paid the deposit of RM5,000.

Earlier last month, DAP had unveiled the names of three candidates for the by-elections on April 7.

They are the party's Lunas branch chairperson, S Neelamekan, deputy state chairperson V Gnanaguru and state organising secretary Teoh Teik Guan.