SEREMBAN: Umno’s Khairy Jamaluddin is almost certain to contest a parliamentary seat which Barisan Nasional failed to win in the 2018 general election.
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The caretaker Health Minister said discussions with the party leadership all point to the fact that he will not get a safe seat.
“I have been offered two or three seats where Barisan was defeated in 2018.
“I am prepared to accept this challenge for the sake of the party,” he told reporters after presenting tablets to UiTM students here on Friday (Oct 21).
Talk has been rife for weeks now that Khairy will most probably be fielded in Kuala Pilah, Tampin or Port Dickson. All three parliamentary seats are in Negri Sembilan.
Kuala Pilah and Tampin had always been Barisan’s strongholds but the coalition was defeated in both constituencies by Pakatan Harapan in 2018.
Kuala Pilah was won by Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia’s Datuk Eddin Syazlee Shith while Tampin went to Parti Amanah Negara’s Datuk Dr Hasan Baharom.
Barisan has also failed to wrest Port Dickson from PKR since the 2008 polls.
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The incumbent MP for Port Dickson is Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who will contest in Tambun, Perak this time around.
Khairy, who has served as Rembau MP for three terms, said the party sought his opinion on where he should contest but the final decision will be left to the leadership.
“It is also true that we cannot expect to be fielded in a safe seat or else we will not be able to champion the party’s agenda everywhere.
“So whether one likes it or not, one must be prepared to contest in areas where we failed to win before this,” he said.
Asked if Kuala Pilah was the most likely seat he would pick, Khairy repeated that it had not been finalised.
Negri Sembilan Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun is likely to replace Anwar in Port Dickson while Aminuddin’s press secretary Nor Azman Mohamad seems set to contest in Kuala Pilah on Pakatan Harapan’s ticket.
Pakatan component Amanah has also proposed that its Permatang Pasir, Penang assemblyman Muhammad Faiz Fadzil stands in Tampin.-The Star