Sungai Buloh no stroll in the park, says KJ

SUNGAI BULOH: The Sungai Buloh parliamentary constituency will not be an easy seat to win for Barisan Nasional, says Khairy Jamaluddin.

Khairy, the BN candidate for the seat, said the coalition had lost by more than 26,000 votes in the constituency in the 2018 general election.

“This isn’t an easy constituency. This isn’t an easy campaign,” he told reporters after a walkabout here this morning.

Yesterday, Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan said the party considered Sungai Buloh to be a safe seat with Malays constituting 70% of the electorate.

Mohamad, the BN deputy chairman, also denied claims that fielding Khairy in Sungai Buloh was an attempt to end the health minister’s political career.

There are about 150,000 voters in Sungai Buloh, which has been an opposition stronghold in the past three elections.

In 2018, Pakatan Harapan’s R Sivarasa won the seat with a majority of 26,634 votes. He is not being fielded this time around.

Meanwhile, Khairy thanked Rafizi Ramli for his “concern” over his political career, after the PKR deputy president said he would get sidelined by his party even if he won in Sungai Buloh.

“(I want to say) thank you to my good friend who cares about my future. My focus now is to win in Sungai Buloh. That is my duty.”

The former Rembau MP also urged Umno leaders who were dropped as candidates in GE15 to remain with the party.

He said politicians went through “ups and downs”, adding that some were dropped while others were “sent to places such as Sungai Buloh, like me”.

“What is important is to stay with the party and continue your service,” he said.

It was reported that former Maran MP Ismail Abd Muttalib and former Arau MP Shahidan Kassim were defending their seats under the Perikatan Nasional banner, after they were dropped by Umno.

Others who were dropped include Annuar Musa (Ketereh), Halimah Sadique (Kota Tinggi), Dr Adham Baba (Tenggara) and Zahidi Zainul Abidin (Padang Besar). — Free Malaysia Today