SHAHRIZAT WILL NOT CONTEST IN BANDAR TUN RAZAK

KUALA LUMPUR: Wanita Umno chief Tan Sri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil will not contest the Bandar Tun Razak parliamentary seat in the 14th General Election (GE14).

“Many people asked if I would accept the offer to contest the Bandar Tun Razak parliamentary seat. My answer is ‘no’, although Bandar Tun Razak is an area where Barisan Nasional can win and defeat PKR,” she said.

Later, Shahrizat said she wanted to focus on strengthening the Wanita machinery for GE14.

“This is the reason I turned down contesting in Bandar Tun Razak. As one of the leaders for the party’s wings, the party president (Datuk Seri Najib Razak) wants me to contest (in GE14). However, I need to set my priority straight, which is to strengthen the Wanita machinery and ensure BN wins big in the election. I have informed Najib about this and he accepted it.”

Sungai Besar Umno division chief Datuk Seri Jamal Md Yunos had offered Shahrizat the Sungai Besar parliamentary seat. The former cabinet minister declined the offer as she felt there were local figures who could be candidates in the constituency.

Shahrizat is also the Kepong Wanita Umno chief and began her political career in 1982 when she was appointed as Kepong Baru Wanita Umno chief. For three terms, she was Lembah Pantai MP, and soon after, she became Wanita Umno chief.

In 1995, she defeated ex-Federal Court lord president Tun Mohamed Salleh Abas, who was contesting on the Semangat 46 ticket, with a 13,361 majority.

In GE10, she defeated Zainur Zakaria (PKR) with a 1,417 majority and won big in the 2004 election, defeating Parti Rakyat Malaysia secretary-general Dr Sanusi Osman with a 15,288 majority. She was defeated by PKR’s Nurul Izzah Anwar by 2,895 votes in GE12.