IPOH, May 5 — Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Saarani Mohamad today quashed rumours that he will be contesting the Larut parliament seat, currently held by Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia secretary-general Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin, in the 15th general election.

However, the state Umno liaison committee chairman said that the party will still contest the parliamentary seat, which was previously held by Umno before Hamzah defected to Bersatu after the 14th general election.

"There was no discussion held at anywhere [regarding the matter],” he told a press conference after witness the memorandum of understanding signing between Perbadanan Kemajuan Negeri Perak (PKNP) and Syarikat Professional Latex Sdn Bhd at the Mentri Besar’s Office here.

"I’m from Lenggong,” said Saarani, hinting that he may still contest the same seat.

Saarani is currently the state assemblyman for Kota Tampan, which falls under the Lenggong federal seat.

Saarani said the candidate for the Larut seat will be a local from the constituency, pointing out the candidates will be decided by the Umno divisions.

"I have repeated many times, biar halilintar membelah bumi, Umno will still contest the seat,” he said, using the Malay proverb that roughly means "whatever comes”.

Yesterday, The Malaysian Insight reported that Umno is considering a strong candidate to contest the Larut following Hamzah’s exit from the party.

The report quoted a party source as saying that among the names being considered for the parliamentary seat was Saarani.