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KUALA LUMPUR – Umno is expected to field its information chief Shahril Sufian Hamdan as a candidate in the Alor Gajah parliamentary seat in the upcoming 15th general election (GE15).
It is believed that the deputy Umno Youth chief will be vying for the seat after managing to win over the favour of voters due to his outspoken nature, which does not exclude criticism of the government and politicians.
A source who spoke with The Vibes’ Bahasa Malaysia sister portal Getaran confirmed that Umno has nominated Shahril as a GE15 candidate.
“I cannot deny the possibility (of Shahril contesting in Alor Gajah). He rightfully deserves to be an Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate in the constituency,” the source said.
“I cannot say where (Shahril) will be contesting. You will have to wait for an official statement from the party regarding Umno and BN candidates for GE15.”
The move to place Shahril in the race for the seat is seen as being part of Umno’s strategy to continue its momentum of fielding youth nominees for the federal polls.
Prior to the dissolution of Parliament on Monday, the seat belonged to Bersatu’s Datuk Seri Mohd Redzuan Md Yusof, who had secured the constituency during the previous general election in 2018.
Redzuan was appointed as the entrepreneur development minister under the Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration, the collapse of which saw him regaining his post as minister in the Prime Minister’s Department for special functions.
Shahril, who had made his political debut by contesting the Kuala Langat parliamentary seat during the previous general election, was defeated by then-PH candidate Datuk Dr Xavier Jayakumar with a 17,112 majority in a three-cornered battle.
Meanwhile, the source said that the top-five Umno leaders are now scrutinising a list of candidates for parliamentary and state assembly seats.
They added that Umno state chiefs in localities where the state assemblies will not be dissolved for simultaneous polls with the general election have presented their choices of candidates in preparation for state elections early next year.
“The top five leaders of Umno are going over (the candidacy list) before it is submitted to the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission and the Inland Revenue Board for filtration prior to the list being confirmed,” they said.
“Umno might announce the candidates soon, after the Election Commission has held its special meeting to discuss GE15 matters on October 20.” – The Vibes, October 14, 2022
