KUALA LUMPUR, February 2 — Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM) Supreme Council member Datuk Rais Hussin has refused to confirm that his party will likely field Hulu Langat acting division chief Mohd Rais Zulkifli for the Semenyih by-election.
The party strategist said PPBM has yet to reach a decision for the state seat poll, and is still considering a couple more names.
“Many candidates are being considered,” Rais told Malay Mail in a text message.
This follows a report by Malaysiakini and The Star quoting one anonymous party source each claiming the man known to his colleagues as “Mike Tyson” or “Mr Tyson” may be Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) candidate, among the six others shortlisted.
Mohd Rais, 38, is reported to have the full support from his division’s youth wing to be filed as a candidate.
Prior to joining PPBM, Mohd Rais started his career as an activist for PH precursor, civil movement Deklarasi Rakyat.
He was supposed to contest for the Semenyih seat for the 14th general election but was replaced by Bakhtiar Mohd Nor instead, who later passed away on January 11 due to cardiac arrest.
In GE14, Bakhtiar ran in Semenyih, a 68 per cent Malay majority seat, against Umno’s Datuk Johan Abd Aziz, PAS’ Mad Shahmidur Mat Kosim and PSM’s S. Arutchelvan.
Bakhtiar won by a majority of 8,964 votes against Johan, his closest rival, who landed 14,464 votes.
