The offer was made during a discussion between Johor DAP chief Teo Nie Ching and Marina on May 17, according to the letter, which was addressed to Teo from the Skudai assembly member.

FMT has sought comment from Marina on the authenticity of the letter, in which she also rejected a proposed offer of a chairmanship of a statutory authority.

Earlier today, Teo had made reference to “a strong possibility” of DAP contesting an urban seat won by Pakatan Harapan in 2018.

She did not name the seat but said the party leadership held the view that Marina was the most winnable candidate for the seat, and that fielding a Malay candidate in such an urban seat was seen as “a highly strategic move and a vital opportunity for the party to step out of our traditional strongholds”.

The letter circulating on social media showed that the offer made to Marina was the Tiram seat, which was held by Umno for 10 terms until 2018, when a PKR candidate was elected, before Umno recaptured the seat in 2022.

S Gopalakrishnan of PKR won in 2018 with a majority of 8,098 votes, defeating Umno’s Maulizan Bujang, who had held the seat for three terms, and a PAS candidate.

However, in 2022, Umno recaptured the seat by a majority of 5,281 votes in a seven-cornered contest. Gopalakrishnan came in third place, behind the candidates from Umno and Perikatan Nasional.

“If the offer to contest in a new seat had upset Marina in any way, I would like to officially record my regrets,” Teo said in a Facebook post.

Marina won the Skudai seat in the 2022 election. She secured 26,359 votes, defeating Lim Soon Hai of Barisan Nasional, who garnered 12,416 votes, and Khoo Keng Ek of Perikatan Nasional, who received 6,258 votes.