In the searing heat, a small group of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) volunteers lugged metal poles twice their height outside the party headquarters at Port Dickson Waterfront on Friday afternoon (Sep 28).

In a small corner of the usually quiet town centre, the area outside the PKR office was a hive of activity as supporters put up tents, prepared party flags and collated campaign posters bearing the face of Malaysia’s prime minister-in-waiting Anwar Ibrahim.

It is less than 24 hours before the nomination for the Port Dickson by-election opens, when Anwar is set to take his first step to officially re-enter politics since he was released from prison in May.

… Rashaad Ali, Malaysia research analyst at the S. Rajaratnam School of International Studies (RSIS) at Nanyang Technological University, told Channel NewsAsia that the list of candidates to battle Anwar was “interesting” as it highlighted how the different parties view the importance of putting in people who could identify with locals in the by-election.

“Perhaps this was done with Anwar in mind, to emphasise his ‘illegitimacy’ as a parachute candidate. These candidates may not win outright, but they do stand a chance at disrupting the election, especially if voter turnout is low,” said Rashaad.