GE15: As election looms, Raja Nong Chik reminisce his foiled bids for Lembah Pantai

SHAH ALAM - While his electoral ambitions were dashed twice, serial contestant of the Lembah Pantai parliamentary seat, Datuk Seri Raja Nong Chik of Umno, neither regretted nor begrudged the voters there despite his consecutive defeats.

In fact, the former federal territories and urban wellbeing minister, said -- in exclusive interview with Sinar Daily's Fireside Chat -- that he has even grown attached with the contituents in Lembah Pantai.

“For me the experience was very heartwarming. I’m very attached to Lembah Pantai voters; only 60 per cent voters stay there so, I am very hands on with them.

“ I still go there even now," said Raja Nong Chik, adding that he had always considered himself as the underdog when fought against PKR in the 2013 and 2018 General Elections.

In his first electoral debut, Raja Nong Chik -- who became a minister by via a senatorship in 2008 -- went up against PKR's Nurul Izzah Anwar. In his second bid, it was PKR's Fahmi Fadzil.

His candidacy for Lembah Pantai, Raja Nong Chik added, allowed him to learn about the voters profile in the parliamentary seat; which the Malays made up about 60 per cent of the voters there.

Lembah Pantai, he claimed, set a good example of what the Peninsula is about.

During the interview, he also maintained his 2018 view on caretaker Finance Minister Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul's winnability had Umno fielded him to contest in Lembah Pantai in the coming 15th General Election (GE15).

“Unfortunately for some leaders in Lembah Pantai, they thought that I wanted to push Zafrul in because he was actually a member of Umno Lembah Pantai at that time.

“To me, if the Umno leaders accept him, why not? You would have a finance minister as the member of Parliament,” he said.

Stressing that he understood the psyche of the voters in Lembah Pantai, Raja Nong Chik said that Umno needed a political figure who can win over the fence-sitters there.