PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (right) and Simpang Renggam MP Maszlee Malik responding to questions at the sidelines of PKR’s Presidential Tour programme at Dewan JKKK Kampung Baru in Machap, Simpang Renggam, November 27, 2021. — Picture by Ben Tan
SIMPANG RENGGAM, Nov 27 — PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has not ruled out the possibility that he could contest a Johor parliamentary seat for the next general election.
Anwar is currently the elected representative of Port Dickson in Negri Sembilan.
“I did not say no (to contesting in Johor) and I won’t know if I’ll be contesting here.
“As usual, it is still too early to say,” said Anwar at the sidelines of PKR’s Presidential Tour programme at Dewan JKKK Kampung Baru in Machap here today.
He was accompanied by new PKR member and Simpang Renggam MP Maszlee Malik and senior party leaders.
The 74-year-old federal Opposition leader and PH chairman was responding to a Malay Mail news report quoting a source who suggested that he was identifying federal seats to possibly contest during the 15th general election.
Anwar, who is also the Port Dickson MP, said that he believed that the media reported that he was scouting for potential federal seats in Johor due to his official visit to the state.
“They (the media) read it as such because I was scheduled to visit Kluang and Simpang Renggam today,” he said.
Earlier, Anwar received new PKR membership forms from Maszlee and 500 members into the party’s Simpang Renggam division.
He said Maszlee’s participation in PKR was meaningful as the former federal minister represents the ranks of young people who can further strengthen the party’s position.
Yesterday, Malay Mail reported the source as saying the Tebrau parliamentary seat in Johor would be well suited for Anwar to contest.
The person said the PKR leadership considered Tebrau to be a strong possibility given that the incumbent MP, Steven Choong, defected during the so-called “Sheraton Move” in 2020 to align himself with Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) and Perikatan Nasional (PN) pending the formation of his new Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM).
PKR already has a strong presence in Tebrau that was considered one of the party’s most valuable constituencies in the state, the source added when concluding it would likely be the best choice for Anwar.