SHAH ALAM, July 19 — New face "Ustaz” Mohd Zawawi Ahmad Mughni, a tahfiz school principal, has been named as PKR’s candidate for the Sungai Kandis by-election.

The announcement was made by PKR president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail this evening after she launched the party’s election machinery for the Selangor state seat.

Malay Mail reported earlier today that the national PKR leadership had chosen Zawawi, a local, over the Selangor chapter’s pick of Mohd Razlan Jalaluddin, the former PKR coordinator for the Kota Damansara seat in the 14th general election.

"Hopefully, we can again win here and bring Selangor to greater heights,” Dr Wan Azizah said.

Zawawi, when met, said he did not expect to be chosen as a candidate.

"But I will do my best here to address issues like clogged drains, bad roads and garbage collection,” the 48-year-old said.

Zawawi is secretary of PKR’s religious strengthening and understanding bureau. He is also a member of the party’s education bureau.

Also present at the event was PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar, Selangor Mentri Besar Amirudin Shari and several other state representatives.

The by-election for the Selangor state seat will be held on August 4, while the nomination is this Saturday.

Umno is expected to run against PKR in a straight fight, with PAS giving way to the Malay nationalist party.

The 14th general election saw a four-cornered fight in Sungai Kandis between PKR, Umno, PAS and Parti Rakyat Malaysia, with PKR winning the seat with 23,998 votes.

Umno came in second place with 11,518 votes, while PAS trailed behind with 7,573 votes.

The seat fell vacant following the death of its assemblyman Mat Shuhaimi Shafiei on July 2 after battling lymphatic cancer.