Former Padang Rengas MP Nazri Aziz is looking to contest the parliamentary seat again in the 16th general election (GE16), insisting that it has traditionally belonged to Barisan Nasional (BN).
Nazri, a former Umno Supreme Council member, represented the constituency for four terms between 2004 and 2022.
He said he intended to seek the seat again after completing his tenure as Malaysia’s ambassador to the United States.
Although the constituency is currently represented by Wawasan’s Azahari Hasan, it has been held by an Umno MP since the parliamentary seat was created in 1974.
‘That is a BN seat. Find another seat,’ Nazri said when asked whether Perikatan Nasional (PN) would seek to defend the constituency in GE16.
‘I am still the division chief and intend to contest the parliamentary seat.’
BN-PN cooperation raises seat allocation questions
Nazri’s position raises questions about seat allocation if the electoral cooperation between BN and PN in the Negeri Sembilan and Melaka state elections is extended to GE16.
In August 2021, Nazri announced that he would retire from politics and sit out GE15 to make way for younger leaders.
BN candidate Arrif Abdul Majid, who replaced him in GE15, subsequently lost to Azahari by a majority of 3,046 votes.
Nazri signals political comeback
Nazri served as Malaysia’s ambassador to the US from February 2023 to February 2025.
After returning from the US, he said he wanted to help Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim prepare for GE16 rather than contest as a candidate himself.
However, in April, Nazri said he was willing to contest Padang Rengas again, subject to approval from Umno’s leadership.
