Isham tipped for Shah Alam, a seat ‘no one wants’

 

Sources said Isham Jalil is likely to stand in Shah Alam which has been held by Khalid Samad of PH since 2008.

PETALING JAYA: Umno Supreme Council member Isham Jalil is poised to stand in the Shah Alam parliamentary seat after initial reports indicated that he was unlikely to be fielded in the general election.

A source said Isham has been assigned to a seat that “no one else wants” as it is seen as a Pakatan Harapan bastion.

“It will be a near impossible task to win the seat, given the large majorities in the past. It is also a seat that Umno lost heavily in the last general election,” the source said.

Shah Alam has returned Khalid Samad (of PAS and later Amanah) to three terms since 2008, each time with large majorities against Umno and PAS candidates.

-ADVERTISEMENT-

Ads by 

The Shah Alam seat is among the 120 seats that Umno is contesting and is widely regarded as among the toughest contests that the party faces.

In 2018, Khalid polled 55,949 votes, winning with a 33,849-vote majority against his rivals from Umno (22,100 votes) and PAS (15,194).

Last week, Selangor BN chairman Noh Omar said the coalition will field 21 new faces in Selangor.

BN won only two parliamentary seats in Selangor in 2018 – Tanjong Karang (Noh Omar) and Sabak Bernam (Fasiah Fakeh). Fasiah was among six Umno MPs who left the party in December 2018 to join Bersatu. - FMT