KUALA LUMPUR - PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim says his move to a new parliamentary seat is on the basis that his two previous seats signalled a potential winning streak.
The former Permatang Pauh MP and the incumbent of the Port Dickson parliamentary seat said that the transfer to Tambun for the 15th General Election (GE15) was decided after a study was carried out in the area.
"I have left a solid arena. (Parliament of) Permatang Pauh for me is already firm and Port Dickson in these few years, I have paid a whole lot of attention.
"(So) I’d like to strengthen and need to conquer new territories in order to win and conquer the nation," he said in an audio recording shared to the media via a WhatsApp group on Saturday.
At the PKR nomination on Friday, Anwar who is also Pakatan Harapan's (PH) candidate for prime minister confirmed that he was contest in Tambun and expected to face the seat's incumbent, Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu.
Faizal is Bersatu deputy president.
A total of 72 candidates were presented by PKR to compete for parliamentary seats in GE15.
During the nomination announcement, PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli said Anwar was leading in Tambun Parliament based on a detailed survey and review carried out by the party.
This, however, was not welcomed by all when political veteran and former PKR Vice President Tian Chua warned the party’s move to drop some incumbent MPs ahead of GE15 could affect the party.
Anwar was later quoted saying that not all leaders from the party need to be featured as GE15 candidates.
He said new faces including the new generation should be given the opportunity to contest in the election.
"I would like to emphasise (to) Tian Chua, not all the struggles need to run through the electoral process. We need the support of these old figures in the party to continue to guide the youth," he said.
Tian Chua had said some PKR members were disappointed with the decision made by the leadership in selecting candidates to contest in several seats in this election.
Among the former PKR MPs who will not be defending their seats include Maria Chin Abdullah (Petaling Jaya), R Sivarasa (Sungai Buloh), Tan Yee Kew (Wangsa Maju), June Leow (Hulu Selangor), Datuk Johari Abdul (Sungai Petani) and Chan Ming Kai (Alor Setar).