Bandar Tun Razak Umno welcomes Shahrizat's candidacy

VOXPOP | Several Bandar Tun Razak Umno members welcomed reports that Umno Wanita chief Shahrizat Abdul Jalil may be fielded as candidate in the parliamentary constituency.

Though somewhat guarded since Shahrizat’s candidacy has yet to be officially confirmed, they appeared pleased with the prospect of having an Umno candidate for the seat when approached by Malaysiakini last night. 

“Insya Allah if it’s true, then it is good because it means an Umno candidate is fielded.

"All this while it has been MCA, but if Umno is fielded, alhamdulillah I’d love that,” said 68-year old retiree Md Shah Abdul Ghani.

He was speaking to Malaysiakini after a ceramah organised by Bandar Tun Razak Umno at one of its polling district-level election war rooms last night.

The event was attended by about a 100 people, said to comprise members of the local Umno machinery. Nearly all were clad in dark blue shirts featuring the BN logo.

Shah said he would not mind if the Bandar Tun Razak candidate is not from the area, so long as he or she is from Umno.

Zauyah Zainuddin, 43, who works a treasurer at a cooperative, said the party machinery will get behind whoever BN chairperson Najib Abdul Razak picks as the candidate for the seat.

“But in terms of Shahrizat, MCA had contested Bandar Tun Razak before this, but we do want a Malay (candidate).

"This is because after the redelineation, Malays have become 61 percent (of voters) here, so it should be a Malay candidate,” she said.

However, she repeatedly stressed that the party machinery will ensure the victory of any BN candidate fielded there.

Prior to the recently gazetted redelineation exercise, Malays comprised 53 percent of the electorate.

Another interviewee, who identified herself only as Mak Cik Pah, spoke highly of Shahrizat, and said it would be good if she contests in Bandar Tun Razak.

The 69-year old former civil servant said she frequently sees Shahrizat at events, and would not mind if she is fielded in Bandar Tun Razak instead of a candidate from the area.

Yesterday, Malaysiakini reported that multiple Umno sources, including those from its central leadership, had said that the party would contest the seat with Shahrizat as its candidate.

MCA has contested Bandar Tun Razak since 1995, but Umno had been lobbying for the chance to stand there for years, their case being made stronger by the demographic changes after the recent redelineation.

Nevertheless, MCA deputy president Wee Ka Siong (photo) insisted that the seat is still MCA’s to contest, while local division chief Chew Yin Keen said the party would not cede the constituency to Umno.

“I've been hearing (speculation) of five different (BN) candidates for Bandar Tun Razak this month alone.

“Who do you want me to believe? Don't worry. It is our constituency. We will defend it,” Wee told Malaysiakiniyesterday.

Unlike Bandar Tun Razak Umno members, however, other party members had voiced their reservations about her candidacy.

Former division secretary Zaharin Mohd Yasin took to Facebook to say that the constituency is not a “trash can” and demanded a local candidate.

Party insiders also told Malaysiakini that there are concerns within the party that the National Feedlot Centre scandal that implicated Shahrizat’s family could return to haunt her, despite her husband Mohamad Salleh Ismail being cleared of wrongdoing.

Bandar Tun Razak Umno chief Rizalman Mokhtar (photo) told Malaysiakini when contacted yesterday that he was unaware of the Shahrizat speculation, but said he would be “okay with any candidate.”

Prior to this, Rizalman was widely tipped to be the Bandar Tun Razak candidate himself, but his odds were torpedoed when he was nabbed after testing positive for methamphetamines.

More rigorous follow-up testing had cleared him of wrongdoing.

When Rizalman appeared at the ceramah last night, he did not say much except to give a brief introduction of the event and its speakers, and express his hope that an Umno candidate would be fielded in Bandar Tun Razak.

Nomination day will be on April 28, whereas polling day will be on May 9.

Among the speakers last night was lawyer Adnan Seman, who addressed the issues of GST and housing.

He said although GST did increase the price of goods, the increase is in excess of what the tax imposes, because unscrupulous traders would take any opportunity to raise prices of goods.

As such, he said it is not the government’s fault that prices of goods have increased, and replacing GST with SST as Pakatan Harapan had promised would not change anything. - Mkini