Azalina to contest Umno VP post in upcoming party polls

PETALING JAYA: Law and Institutional Reform Minister Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said has filed her papers to contest one of the three Umno vice-president posts in the bid to become the first woman to hold that post in Umno.

The Pengerang MP filed her papers on Saturday (Feb 25) at the party headquarters at the World Trade Centre KL.

When contacted, Azalina simply said, "Yes, filed. I will speak to the media soon."

Azalina, who was also a supreme council member, had been rumoured earlier to run for the post.

She once made history when she became the first woman to be appointed youth and sports minister in 2004 and the first woman to be appointed deputy speaker of the Dewan Rakyat in 2020.

Azalina, 58, holds a Bachelor of Laws from Universiti Malaya in 1988 and a Master of Laws from the London School of Economics and Political Science, United Kingdom in 1990.

She was admitted to the Malaysian Bar in 1989 and has experience in handling civil claim cases involving corporate and commercial banking issues as well as being a partner in a law firm.

"If she wins, this will be a very big win for Wanita Umno as this will be the first time in the party's history that a woman is holding the post, especially when Wanita Umno is such a bg and integral wing of the party," said incumbent Wanita Umno chief Datuk Seri Noraini Ahmad.

Noraini is defending her post in the party polls.

The nomination period closes on Feb 26.

Umno is in the midst of its internal elections for the 191 divisions and 22,000 branches, including the divisions that were suspended.

The party’s new office bearers will be elected from Feb 1 to March 18, but the top two positions of president and deputy president will not be contested this time around.

In May last year, Umno amended its constitution to allow party polls to be held within six months after the conclusion of the 15th General Election.

Umno had postponed its party elections for 18 months after the 2018/2021 term ended on June 30, 2021, which meant party polls for the 2021/2023 term should have been held before Dec 30 last year. However, the polls were postponed.