Former minister Tengku Zafrul Aziz has expressed his interest in contesting a seat in Selangor at the 16th General Election (GE16).
The senior political adviser to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said he had conveyed his intention to PKR’s leadership and would leave the final decision on his candidacy to party president Anwar and the party leadership.
“I have proposed that, if there is a general election, I be given the opportunity to contest in Selangor,” Tengku Zafrul told reporters after attending a Yayasan TZA programme in Kuala Lumpur.
“That is my hope, but the decision rests with the president and the party leadership.”
No preference for constituency
Tengku Zafrul, who is a member of PKR’s Ampang division, said he was not seeking any particular constituency and would leave the matter entirely to the party leadership.
He said he had been actively involved in several areas, including Ampang and Pandan, where he had been asked to assist the party.
“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,” he said.
Role in Pandan and Ampang
Former economy minister Rafizi Ramli represented Pandan for two terms before resigning as the constituency’s Member of Parliament last month.
Rafizi subsequently left PKR to take over Parti Bersama Malaysia.
Following the development, PKR vice-president Amirudin Shari announced Tengku Zafrul’s appointment as the party’s monitoring officer for the Pandan and Ampang parliamentary constituencies.
Looking ahead to GE16
Tengku Zafrul was previously a member of Umno before joining PKR in August last year.
He contested the Kuala Selangor parliamentary seat in the 15th General Election but lost to Amanah vice-president Dzulkefly Ahmad by a margin of 1,002 votes. The result secured Dzulkefly a third consecutive term as MP.
His remarks come amid speculation that a snap GE16 could be called later this year.
