TAMBUN Umno division chief Aminuddin Md Hanafiah is expected to be chosen by Barisan Nasional (BN) to contest the Tambun seat in the upcoming general election.

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi made the announcement at an event in Hutan Melintang near Bagan Datuk yesterday, adding that it was based on the suggestion of the Perak Umno liaison committee.

This development follows Pakatan Harapan (PH) president Anwar Ibrahim’s Thursday announcement that he will also stand in the constituency, and would likely take on incumbent Ahmad Faizal Azumu.

The Bersatu deputy president who won the seat in 2018 with 38,661 votes and a majority of 5,320 in a three-way fight against BN and PAS.

However, he contested on a PH ticket running under the PKR logo.

Zahid, the MP for Bagan Datuk, also welcomed PH’s gambit of letting Anwar stand in Perak, stating that as a democratic country, candidates were free to contest wherever they wanted, regardless of their status as an ordinary member or president of a political party.

“Perak is a BN stronghold, but we welcome any party willing to try their luck here,” he added.

Meanwhile, Zahid said the decision whether Tajuddin Abdul Rahman will defend Pasir Salak would be left to the party’s selection committee.

He added that the committee would also decide on a suitable seat for Khairy Jamaluddin, who is being forced out of his Rembau constituency by deputy president Mohamad Hasan. – Bernama, October 23, 2022.