Noraini said today members of the wing will go to the ground to canvass for votes as planned to ensure a victory for Barisan Nasional.

“Claims that Wanita Umno will boycott the Mahkota by-election are false. It is a non-issue,” she told FMT after being asked about a claim that plans for campaign events had been cancelled.

A political source, who spoke on condition of anonymity, told FMT that Wanita Umno was planning to boycott the campaign as the “Wanita Umno leader and members are still upset” after the wing was overlooked for the Mahkota by-election.

“The constituency is Wanita Umno’s traditional seat and not meant to be contested by Umno Youth,” the source said.

Wanita Umno and Umno Youth had both lobbied to field a candidate representing Barisan Nasional in the Sept 28 by-election.

BN ultimately decided to field Kluang Umno Youth chief Syed Hussein Syed Abdullah as its candidate.

Kluang Wanita Umno’s acting chief, Zainani Jamaluddin, also said she had not heard of any talk of plans to boycott the by-election.

Zainani, previously rumoured to be a frontrunner as a candidate, said she also did not see any push for the wing to skip the by-election.

“You can check for yourself. The Kluang division is in tandem with the party and has accepted its decision.”

The Mahkota by-election was called following the death of state assembly member Sharifah Azizah Syed Zain, who died on Aug 2.

Sharifah Azizah, from Umno, won the seat in 2022 with a 5,166-vote majority over Amanah’s Taqiuddin Cheman.

The Election Commission has set Sept 14 for nominations, with early voting on Sept 24.