'Mr Tyson' likely to be Bersatu's man in Semenyih

PETALING JAYA: The frontrunner to be the Pakatan Harapan candidate for the Semenyih by-election is Mohd Rais Zulkifli (pic), who is popularly known as Mr Tyson, say party sources.

"Mohd Rais Zulkifli seems to fill in most of the criteria to be the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia candidate for Pakatan in Semenyih as he is also a local boy," said the source.

The source further said that Mohd Rais heads a list of six candidates, one of whom is a woman.

Mohd Rais, when contacted, confirmed that he is one of the six on the list.

A former investment advisor at a local bank, Mohd Rais is a member of Hulu Langat Bersatu.

Pakatan has agreed to field a Bersatu candidate.

The seat, which is in Selangor, fell vacant following the death of Bakhtiar Mohd Nor on Jan 11 from a heart attack. He was 57.

In the 14th General Election, Bakhtiar defeated candidates from Barisan Nasional, PAS and Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) in a four-cornered fight, with a majority of 8,964 votes. He garnered 23,428 votes.

The nomination day for the by-election of this state constituency is slated for Feb 12 and polling day will be on March 2.