IPOH, Mar 18 — Wanita Umno chief Tan Sri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil announced today that she will not be contesting the Sungai Besar parliamentary seat in the upcoming general election.

Shahrizat said she was touched and honoured that Sungai Besar Umno division chief Datuk Seri Jamal Md Yunos had invited her to contest the seat, which is currently held by Umno’s Budiman Mohd Zohdi.

"I want to thank Datuk Jamal and the committee there for their invitation. Sungai Besar will always be close to my heart and I will support any candidate chosen for the seat,” she told a press conference after attending the launch of Perak Barisan Nasional’s Wanita and Puteri machinery here today

"I don’t know if I will be contesting any seats, as that will be Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s decision.

"However, Sungai Besar is my own decision and I will not be running there.”

The former Women, Family and Community Development Minister said she had explained her decision to Jamal on the phone, adding that she had also informed the prime minister.

Shahrizat explained that she did not want to steal the thunder of the talented local candidates in Sungai Besar.

"I went there and I looked at the whole scenario. Sungai Besar has a lot of potential leaders and I believe we must tap into that.”

Shahrizat also lauded the Perak state government for encouraging the empowerment of women in public service.

She said the state had given opportunities for women to make history, citing Perak’s first female state legislative assembly speaker Datuk S.Thangasvari as an example.

Perak Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Zambry Abdul Kadir, who was also present at the function, said women would play a vital role in the election.

"Perak BN will try to increase the number of female candidates in the coming election, and this includes all of its component parties,” he said.