PARTI Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) secretary-general Nor Hizwan Ahmad intends to stand for election in Kuala Lumpur in the next general election.

Nor Hizwan said he had set his sight on five parliamentary seats in the capital, which are held by his old party, PKR.

“My target is multiracial seats in Wilayah Persekutuan. 

“We can narrow it down to PKR-contested seats. So we have Batu, Bandar Tun Razak, Lembah Pantai, Setiawangsa and Wangsa Maju,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

In GE14, Batu went to P. Prabakaran, Lembah Pantai to Fahmi Fadzil, Setiawangsa by Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad and Wangsa Maju to Tan Yee Kew.

Bandar Tun Razak went to Kamarudin Jaffar, who later defected to Bersatu after the Sheraton Move that toppled the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government in 2020.

Former PKR deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali and leader Zuraida Kamaruddin – who was Nor Hizwan’s boss – also defected at the time.

Nor Hizwan is Zuraida’s ex-political secretary and president of a non-governmental organisation she founded – Penggerak Komuniti Negara (PKN).

PBM was founded as the Sarawak Workers Party (SWP) before undergoing a name change. It already has more than 100,000 members, including PKN and SWP members.

The party is led by another former PKR leader, Larry Sng.

Nor Hizwan said PBM wants to present a tough fight to PH.

There are cracks in the coalition’s component parties that are advantageous to PBM, he added.

“PH, combined, may have the bulk of the votes, but as it is shaky (and its cooperation) is breaking up, there is an opportunity; the tide can turn.

“I am going to give DAP and PKR a run for their money.”

He said he may also contest in the GE, which must be held by July 2023.

An opportunity for youth, women

Nor Hizwan said PBM will allow youth and women to shine in the political arena.

Both groups will each get a 30% allocation for candidates in GE15, he added.

“We will ensure this 60% are placed in the right seats so they can win.

“We will not field candidates just to fill a promised quota. We will put them (youth and women) in winnable seats, so they can become elected leaders.”

He said it is high time veteran politicians give way to the younger generation.

“I do not agree that young people are future leaders; young people should lead now.

“Enough of giving opportunities to political dinosaurs. For too long, they have been the warlords who want to decide everything, even matters concerning youth.

But, these senior politicians should share their experiences, he added.

“PBM wants balanced and fair opportunities, which are hard to come by, to be given to young leaders and women leaders.” – February 11, 2022.