SHAH ALAM - Incumbent Kuala Selangor MP Datuk Seri Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad has changed his mind to withdraw from contesting in the 15th General Election (GE15) after Barisan Nasional (BN) announced that caretaker Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz will contest in the parliamentary constituency.
Dzulkefly said his decision to return to contest in the election was upon Pakatan Harapan (PH) leadership’s instructions for him to defend the seat he held since GE14.
"I will defend the Kuala Selangor P096 seat after Umno and BN decided to field Tengku Zafrul, because my opponent is a minister, so a former minister is coming down to fight.
"I think it's reasonable for me to obey the leadership of the party and also the recommendations from my voters who requested that I continue to defend the seat.
"I am excited that they wanted me to continue my service since 2008 until now. This is an advantage that Tengku Zafrul does not have," he said after an event introducing the Selangor PH parliament candidates for GE15 at Dewan Raja Muda Musa, Section 7, here.
Asked about his capability to retain the seat that he won in GE14 that witnessed him defeating BN and Pas candidates with a majority of 8,498 votes, he said research has been conducted and it showed positive results.
"The big question is Undi18, they will determine (the result of GE15), as there is an additional 33,000 voters," he said.
In May, the former health minister stated his intentions to withdraw from contesting to pave way for a new face to contest in the Parliamentary seat.
Now, he will face Tengku Zafrul from BN, Pas candidate Muhammad Rashid Mohd Kassim and Gerakan Tanah Air (GTA) candidate who is also Jeram assemblyman Mohd Shaid Rosli.