KUALA LUMPUR, April 16 — Wanita Umno chief Tan Sri Shahrizat Jalil has rejected rumours that she will contest in Bandar Tun Razak in the general election.

The Umno division there hit controversy when its leader, Datuk Rizalman Mokhtar, was arrested last month at an entertainment outlet in the city and initially reported as testing positive for substance abuse.

He was later cleared by a second urine test, but the news is believed to have scuppered his chance of contesting in his home constituency, prompting rumours that another Umno or Barisan Nasional candidate will be fielded there.

Shahrizat was among the names touted, but she came out today to emphatically deny this.

"Many have asked if I will accept the offer to contest in the Bandar Tun Razak parliamentary seat,” she wrote on Twitter.

"My answer is NO, even though Bandar Tun Razak is an area that BN can win and defeat PKR.”

The seat is currently held by Tan Sri Khalid Ibrahim, the former Selangor mentri besar who became an independent lawmaker after he was sacked by PKR.

Rizalman’s woes had prompted allies to issue feelers in the seat, with MCA indicating its interest in taking up the spot.

Shahrizat was Lembah Pantai MP until she was defeated in 2008 by PKR vice president Nurul Izzah Anwar.

Nurul Izzah is set to leave Lembah Pantai, but another Umno leader, Datuk Seri Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin, has staked an early claim on the seat.