Four-term Slim state rep dies

Slim lawmaker and Umno supreme council member Mohd Khusairi Abdul Talib passed away today.

Khusairi, 59, passed away due to a heart attack.

This was confirmed by Perak Umno chief Saarani Mohamad.

He was a four-term Slim state representative and once the chairperson of the National Film Development Board (Finas).

His passing will pave the way for the country's 12th by-election since the 2018 general election.

Khusairi won the Slim state seat in 2004 and retained it twice with comfortable majorities.

However, in 2018, he retained the seat with only 44.8 percent of the vote with a Bersatu candidate coming in second (33 percent), followed by a PAS candidate (22 percent).

Since March, Umno, Bersatu and PAS have been in an alliance.

Slim is a rural constituency where Malays make up three-quarters of the voters and is part of the Tanjung Malim parliamentary constituency.

- Mkini