KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 19 — Zuraida Kamaruddin has offered to defend the Ampang parliamentary seat in the 15th general election (GE15), if this is agreeable to Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) and Perikatan Nasional (PN).
The Minister of Housing and Local Government has held the seat since 2008.
Asked whether the matter had been discussed with UMNO to avoid clashes, Zuraida, who is also a member of the Bersatu Supreme Council, said UMNO was also part of the PN government.
She told reporters this after handing over 8,000 application forms to Selangor Bersatu chairman Datuk Abdul Rashid Asari at the Ampang PN office here today.
On the membership applications, Zuraida said the forms were from members of a non-governmental organisation called Penggerak Komuniti Negara (PKN), who were mostly former members of Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR).
Zuraida said these new members would strengthen the party in the Lembah Jaya and Bukit Antarabangsa state seats under the Ampang constituency.
Meanwhile, Abdul Rashid said with the new applications, Selangor Bersatu now has about 70,000 members and that efforts were being made to increase the membership to 200,000 before GE15. — Bernama