VOTERS in Hulu Langat, Selangor – part of the Pandan constituency – are ready to back PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli if he contests the seat again in the next general election. 

Some said that they will vote for Rafizi with their “eyes closed”, while others said the former Pandan MP will be their only choice if he contests.

According to Joe, 51, Rafizi would be the best candidate for Pandan and will win hands down.

“I don’t think other parties have someone who could go up against Rafizi because he is one of the best. 

“His political comeback is a headache to many others on the other side of the divide. 

“My vote is for him surely, if he contests,” the father of three said. 

Rafizi previously expressed his intention of standing in Pandan in the next general election, which he first won in 2013 on his parliamentary debut.

He said he had made this clear to the party leadership, which had yet to finalise the list of candidates for the election.

Rafizi recently returned to the party fold after a sabbatical. 

Mohd Rashid, 54, who attended the Ayuh Malaysia rally in Pandan with his wife, said he missed Rafizi in the constituency and felt great upon learning the deputy president’s intention to contest in Pandan. 

He said Rafizi is one who could draw support for PKR in the next election. 

“When Rafizi made his comeback to the party, I was happy to see him. 

“He is able pull the votes for the party. They need someone like him. 

“And we need someone of Rafizi’s calibre in parliament so that questions can be asked,” he said. 

Holding nothing against incumbent Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, Rashid said he picked Rafizi as the latter has more traction.

“Rafizi can draw voters with his strong charisma. He can even persuade those who are on the fence with his factual speeches. 

“The party would need that if they are to win the next general election,” he said. 

As for Kannan, 61, Rafizi would be his only choice for the seat if he contest.

“Without any hesitation I would vote for Rafizi. 

“He won this seat for PKR initially, so we want him back here. He is one of us,” the businessman said. 

Kannan also believes Rafizi is among those who are loyal to the party, unlike his predecessor, Mohamed Azmin Ali. 

Meanwhile for Troy, 43, he would vote for anyone from PKR or Pakatan Harapan. 

“What I’m sure is, my votes with be for one of those from PKR or Pakatan Harapan. 

“It can be Wan Azizah or Rafizi or anyone. Either one is capable of doing a good job wherever they contest and win,” he said. 

The Pandan seat was first contested in the 2004 election, with Barisan Nasional’s (BN) Ong Tee Keat winning.

The former transport minister held the seat in 2008, and Rafizi clinched the seat for PKR five years later. 

However, Rafizi could not defend the seat in 2018 due to his pending appeal against a 30-month jail sentence by the Shah Alam Sessions Court in February 2018 for leaking banking details belonging to the National Feedlot Corp and its chairman Mohamad Salleh Ismail.

Wan Azizah contested the seat in 2018 and won against closest rival, BN’s Leong Kok Wee, by a majority of 52,543.

In November 2019, the Shah Alam High Court overturned the Sessions Court’s decision, saying the prosecution had failed to produce the original documents as required under section 61 of the Evidence Act 1950. – October 5, 2022.