Shamsul Iskandar To Take On Zahid’s Bagan Datuk, Wan Azizah Heads To Bandar Tun Razak

Subscribe to our Telegram channel for the latest stories and updates.

PKR is sending its former information chief Datuk Seri Shamsul Iskandar Mohd Akin to Umno’s stronghold Bagan Datuk in the 15th General Election (GE15).

This would see him take on Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi should the latter decide to defend the seat he has held since 1995.

Shamsul Iskandar, in the past two general elections, defeated Umno veteran Tan Sri Mohd Ali Rustam for the Bukit Katil (GE13) and Hang Tuah Jaya (GE14) parliamentary seats.

In an announcement made last night, PKR officially confirmed its president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim will be heading to Tambun. PKR vice president Nurul Izzah Anwar meanwhile will defend Permatang Pauh.

As for former president Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, she will be leaving Pandan for Bandar Tun Razak.

The seat had been PKR’s for the past two general elections but they lost it when the late Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim (GE13) was sacked from the party and Datuk Kamaruddin Jaafar (GE14) quit and later joined Bersatu.

PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli who won Pandan in GE13 but stayed out of GE14 will return to contest in the seat.

As mentioned earlier by Anwar, Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari will be heading to Gombak, most likely battling for the seat against its incumbent, former PKR deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali.

Notable names dropped from PKR’s candidate list is incumbent Sungai Buloh MP Sivarasa Rasiah, Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin Abdullah and Gopeng MP Dr Lee Boon Chye.

PKR communications director Lee Chean Chung will stand in Petaling Jaya, Ramanan Ramakrishnan will head to Sungai Buloh while Tan Kar Hing will take on Gopeng.

Retained to defend their seats are Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad in Setiawangsa and Fahmi Fadzil in Lembah Pantai.

R. Prabakaran who won Batu as an independent candidate will now defend the seat under PKR.

Newcomer candidate Dr Noraisyah Mydin Abdul Aziz is set to take on Putrajaya, a seat held by Umno’s Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor since 2004. Earlier, Perikatan Nasional (PN) announced they would be sending in former Education Minister and Bersatu vice president Datuk Dr Radzi Jidin to wrest the seat from Umno.

While there has been no official word, it was reported back in August that Putrajaya Umno had submitted Tengku Adnan’s name as a potential candidate for the seat in GE15.

As for Ampang, a seat previously held by PKR through Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin, the party will be sending its Batu Tiga assemblyman Rodziah Ismail into battle.

Zuraida left PKR in 2020 and later joined Bersatu. She then left the party to join Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM). Now the president of PBM, the party confirmed Zuraida will defend Ampang in GE15. PBM, despite being new, is not however free from drama as Larry Sng claimed he was still president, in line with the party’s constitution.

In a surprise move, PKR announced former Amanah vice president Datuk Husam Musa as its candidate for the Pasir Mas parliamentary seat.

Husam stepped down from his leadership post in Amanah but remained a member. Malaysiakini, quoting Husam, reported that he would now be joining PKR.

Pasir Mas has been a PAS stronghold since the 90s. It is a known battleground for Datuk Ibrahim Ali, who on three occasions won the seat for Umno, Semangat 46 and PAS. He has also stood in the constituency as an independent candidate but failed to secure a win. Now a member of Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia or Putra for short, it is unclear if and where he will contest in GE15.

In Kedah, PKR secretary-general Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail will defend the Kulim-Bandar Baharu parliamentary seat which he won in the last general election by defeating Umno’s Datuk Abdul Aziz Sheikh Fadzir and PAS’ Hassan Abdul Razak.

Share your thoughts with us via TRP’s Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram.