PKR will field former deputy prime minister Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail for the Bandar Tun Razak seat.
The matter was confirmed to Malaysiakini by division and central leaders, with an official announcement expected on Friday (Oct 28).
Speaking on condition of anonymity, a PKR central leader said fielding Wan Azizah is meant to assuage Bandar Tun Razak voters who had two MPs eventually leave the party.
“Since 2008, PKR has won in Bandar Tun Razak, but the previous two MPs ended up going against the party.
“We admit that voter confidence in PKR (at the constituency) is not that stable and therefore we need a heavyweight leader to hold this place,” the source told Malaysiakini.
In 2008 and 2013, PKR fielded the late Abdul Khalid Ibrahim in the seat.
However, in 2014, Khalid - who also served as Selangor menteri besar - was sacked from the party after he refused to cede office.
PKR wanted to instal Wan Azizah as the new Selangor menteri besar - after an earlier bid to give the post to party president Anwar Ibrahim was thwarted by the Court of Appeal convicting him during his second sodomy trial.
Then in 2018, Kamarudin Jaffar won the seat.
Kamarudin, however, quit PKR and joined Bersatu after the Sheraton Move in 2020.
Meanwhile, a local PKR division leader told Malaysiakini they were informed of Wan Azizah’s candidacy today and are prepared to campaign for her.
Wan Azizah - who is a former PKR president - contested the Pandan seat in 2018.
She also served as Permatang Pauh MP from 1999 to 2008 and again from 2015 to 2018.
On both occasions, Wan Azizah took over the seat from her husband Anwar after he was jailed.
With Wan Azizah not defending Pandan, it is expected that the seat may be contested by PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli, who has expressed interest in taking back his old seat.
Rafizi won Pandan in 2013 but did not contest in 2018 after the Sessions Court in Shah Alam found him guilty and sentenced him to 30 months in jail for exposing confidential banking details related to the National Feedlot Corporation (NFC) scandal. The High Court, however, overturned the conviction in 2019. - Mkini
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.