GE13: Umno to contest Wangsa Maju

THE fight for the Wangsa Maju parliamentary seat is shaping up to become a possible three-cornered fight for the general election (GE13).

Umno will most likely contest the seat under the Barisan Nasional coalition.

In 2008, candidate for Barisan was Datuk Yew Teong Look of MCA.

Wangsa Maju Barisan chairman Datuk Dr Shafei Abdullah, who is no stranger to the area, is widely speculated to contest this time.

“I have been staying in this area since 1988, when I first joined Umno with the intention of serving the people and this country.

“I worked my way up to where I am today and have been actively helping the constituents in the area,” he said during a health programme held in Kampung Puah recently.

Dr Shafei, who is also the Prime Minister’s political secretary, said candidacy is not something to be asked for but earned.

If selected, this will be his first time contesting in the general election.

Incumbent Wee Choo Keong has expressed willingness to enter the fray as an independent candidate.

“My track record speaks for itself. I have done all I can for the constituency over the last five years.

“The people here are supportive of me contesting again,” he said.

However, Wee said he would make a decision after the Election Commission announced the dates for nomination and polling.

He won the seat in the 2008 general election, with a majority of 150 votes to defeat Yew.

Meanwhile, stepping into the vacancy created by Wee when he left PKR in 2010 is PKR central committee member and party disciplinary chairman Datuk Dr Tan Kee Kwong, who has been tipped to be the candidate in Wangsa Maju.

Tan entered politics in 1995 and was once a Gerakan leader and deputy Land and Cooperatives Develop-ment minister before joining PKR about six months after the last general election.