BANDAR TUN RAZAK: Former PKR MPs who were dropped from the list of candidates for the 15th general election (GE15) can still serve the country even without positions, says PKR adviser Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail.
“We can serve in any role. Being an elected representative is just one of the ways for us to serve,” she told FMT.
“(Even if) there are no positions, our intention is (still) to be a good citizen and serve the country.”
She was commenting on the party’s move to drop several big names from GE15, including Maria Chin Abdullah.
Thanking Maria for her service, Wan Azizah said she hoped Maria would continue to serve the country as an activist.
On Friday, PKR announced its list of 72 candidates for parliamentary seats in the peninsula.
Maria, who is the former chairman of electoral reform group Bersih, was not named to defend the Petaling Jaya seat which she won in the last general election (GE14) in 2018.
The other former MPs dropped were R Sivarasa (Sungai Buloh), Johari Abdul (Sungai Petani), Natrah Ismail (Sekijang), June Leow (Hulu Selangor), Tan Yee Kiew (Wangsa Maju), Dr Lee Boon Chye (Gopeng) and Chan Ming Kai (Alor Setar).
It is understood Lee and Tan had previously informed the party they planned to retire after their current term, which expired with the dissolution of Parliament on Oct 10.
Among those who criticised the decision to drop some of the popular former MPs was former PKR vice-president Tian Chua, who warned that it would hurt the party’s grassroots and frustrate the voters who supported PKR and their elected representatives.
Earlier today, Wan Azizah participated in a “Fun Run” at Tasik Permaisuri here with 300 other participants.
Wan Azizah, 69, has been named PKR’s candidate for the Bandar Tun Razak seat. When asked about the reception she received today, the former deputy prime minister said the response was encouraging and hoped those sentiments would be reflected when the area’s residents head to the ballot box.
The Bandar Tun Razak seat was won by Kamarudin Jaffar in GE14 when he was still with PKR.
However, he was among the 11 PKR MPs who defected to Bersatu in February 2020, following the Sheraton Move which saw the fall of the PH government.
Bandar Tun Razak is a PKR stronghold with former Selangor menteri besar Khalid Ibrahim having won the seat in the 2008 and 2013 polls.
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