The Bandar Tun Razak Umno division chief says his party now stands the best chance of taking back the KL seat it lost in 2008.
Rizalman says he plans to dedicate his victory in Bandar Tun Razak to Najib Razak.
PETALING JAYA: Bandar Tun Razak Umno chief Rizalman Mokhtar says his efforts over the last 14 years have given Umno a chance to win the urban seat in the coming polls.
“This parliamentary seat was previously described as difficult to win, but we now have the best chance of taking it back,” he told FMT in an interview.
“This is not something we built in the last four-and-a-half years. I have worked the ground here for 14 years. The Barisan Nasional (BN) and Umno brands are now well accepted.”
His comments were made hours before a source told FMT that Wanita Umno chief Shahrizat Abdul Jalil is poised to make a parliamentary comeback through the seat.
Shahrizat last stood as a candidate to defend her Lembah Pantai seat in 2008, but has not been fielded as a candidate since her shocking defeat to PKR’s Nurul Izzah Anwar that year.
Rizalman said he was ready to stand in Bandar Tun Razak if nominated.
And if he wins, he plans to dedicate his victory to Najib Razak, in memory of the prime minister’s late father, Razak Hussein, after whom the constituency is named.
“If I am nominated, I will accept it as confirmation of the party’s confidence in me,” he added.
But he said he would still be loyal to the party even if someone else is nominated.
“I will give my support to whoever is chosen by the party to stand in the seat,” he told FMT.
“I have never sabotaged the party. Since 1995, in every general election, I was in the forefront supporting the BN candidate.”
Rizalman was recently embroiled in a drug-related controversy following a joint raid by police and the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) at a club in Kuala Lumpur.
A urine test he took following the raid found him positive for syabu. However, Rizalman denied taking the drug, saying there was a plot to kill his political career.
The police later cleared him, saying further tests came back negative.
Following the incident, there was speculation that Rizalman would not be considered as a candidate in the coming polls.
Bandar Tun Razak is a Malay-majority constituency, although BN has traditionally fielded a candidate from MCA there.
Former Selangor menteri besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim won the seat in 2008 and 2013, before his fallout with PKR in 2014. Khalid, who has since remained an independent MP, will not defend the seat. - FMT
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.