SEREMBAN: Incumbent Rembau MP Khairy Jamaluddin has been offered to contest a seat that Barisan Nasional lost in the 2018 general election and he is raring to take up the challenge.
The Health Minister said discussions with the party leadership all pointed to the fact that he would not get a seat considered safe in the state.
Khairy said he had been offered to contest one of the seats where Barisan was defeated in the 14th General Election.
“I am, however, prepared to accept this challenge for the sake of the party,” he told reporters after presenting Keluarga Malaysia tablets to UiTM students here.
Talk has been rife for weeks now that Khairy will most probably be fielded either in Kuala Pilah, Tampin or Port Dickson.
Kuala Pilah and Tampin were Barisan’s strongholds but the coalition was defeated in both constituencies in 2018.
Kuala Pilah was won by Parti Pribumi Bersatu’s Datuk Eddin Syazlee Shith, while Tampin went to Parti Amanah Negara’s Datuk Dr Hasan Baharom.
Barisan has also failed to wrest Port Dickson from PKR since the 2008 polls.
The incumbent MP for Port Dickson is Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who will contest in Tambun, Perak, this time around.
Khairy, who has served as Rembau MP for three terms, said he would leave it to the party leadership to decide where he should contest.
“It is also true that not every one of us can expect to be fielded in a safe seat or else we will not be able to champion the party’s agenda everywhere.
“So whether you like it or not, we must be prepared to contest in areas where we had failed to win before this,” he said, adding that he had also been offered seats outside Negri Sembilan.
Asked if Kuala Pilah was the best option, Khairy said this had not been finalised.
Negri Sembilan Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun is among the candidates likely to replace Anwar in Port Dickson, while Aminuddin’s press secretary, Nor Azman Mohamad, will likely contest in Kuala Pilah on Pakatan Harapan’s ticket.
Sources also say Datuk Romli Ishak, the former political secretary to former deputy prime minister Datin Seri Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, is in the running for the Port Dickson seat.
State Amanah has also proposed its Permatang Pasir assemblyman, Muhammad Faiz Fadzil, to stand in Tampin. Permatang Pasir is a state seat in Penang.
At the event earlier, Khairy said he would propose that the government give free tablets to all undergraduates from the B40 category in the event Barisan forms the next government.
“We should not see this as a cost but an investment.
“We need to help the rakyat, which is just recovering from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.
Khairy also urged youth to vote in the polls, adding that it was, however, up to them who they wished to pick.
He said they should make an informed decision and not vote for political parties or individuals who were only merely popular on social media.
“Do not vote for someone who is only famous on TikTok.
“Read their manifesto and make a mature decision,” he added.
