Salleh Marican submits papers to run for president
Businessman Mohamed Salleh Marican is the first presidential hopeful to submit his application for the reserved election due to be held next month.
Mr Salleh, accompanied by his wife Sapiyah Abu Bakar, arrived at the Elections Department at 3.20pm yesterday.
About 20 friends and business associates were there to support him.
After submitting his forms, which consisted of a Malay community certificate and a certificate of eligibility, Mr Salleh told reporters he was confident he would qualify to stand in the election.
The Second Chance Properties founder and chief executive does not automatically qualify as the Constitution requires candidates from the private sector to have run a company with at least $500 million in shareholder equity, on average, for the most recent three years.
But the Presidential Elections Committee can exercise discretion if it is satisfied the person "has experience and ability that is comparable" to that of someone who served as the chief executive of a company of that scale.
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