Tengku Zafrul keen on contesting Selangor seat in GE16

 The former minister contested the Kuala Selangor seat in GE15 for Umno but lost to Amanah vice-president Dzulkefly Ahmad.

Tengku Zafrul Aziz, an Ampang PKR member, said he was open to contesting any constituency in the next general election. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA:

Former minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz says he is keen on contesting a seat in Selangor at the 16th general election (GE16).

Tengku Zafrul, the senior political adviser to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, said he had conveyed his proposal to PKR’s leadership and would leave the final decision to the PKR president.

Tengku Zafrul, who is a member of Ampang PKR, said he had no preference for any particular constituency and would leave the candidate selection entirely to the party’s leadership.

“I have proposed that, if there is a general election, I be given the opportunity to contest in Selangor,” he told reporters after a Yayasan TZA programme in Kuala Lumpur.

“That is my hope, but the decision rests with the president and the party leadership.

“As a party member and an Ampang division member, I spend a lot of time in Ampang, Pandan and several other areas where I have been asked to help.

“There is a vacancy in Pandan … and I have also been tasked with monitoring developments in Ampang on behalf of the party.”

Rafizi Ramli, a former economy minister, had represented Pandan for two terms. He resigned as Pandan MP last month before quitting PKR to take over Parti Bersama Malaysia.

PKR vice-president Amirudin Shari then announced Tengku Zafrul’s appointment as the party’s monitoring officer for the Pandan and Ampang parliamentary constituencies.

Tengku Zafrul used to be from Umno but joined PKR in August last year.

He contested the Kuala Selangor seat in GE15 but lost to Amanah vice-president Dzulkefly Ahmad by 1,002 votes. The victory secured Dzulkefly a third term as MP..

There has been speculation of a snap GE16 being held this year. - FMT