PETALING JAYA: Former Public Service Department deputy director-general Datuk Zainal Azman Abu Seman has been confirmed to contest in Kuala Sepetang state seat, Perak under PKR’s banner.
PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli confirmed the matter in a news conference held at PKR headquarters today.
“Yes, he is confirmed to contest (in the seat),“ Rafizi said.
“It’s a big gamble for him, we’ve never seen a very senior ex-civil servant to be fielded because he’s a deputy-director of the civil service, that’s ranked top file in the order of seniority, and he was also the state secretary of Perak.
“The problem that we think has dodged Pakatan Harapan in the last 16 years is the lack of Malay leaders that can balance between alleviating the support for PH and PKR, and at the same time seem to be a steady hand to manage the state.
“We’ve sent our big guns to Perak not just at the parliamentary level but also at the state level to make it clear the candidate is of the highest rank compared to all the other candidates from all the other parties,” he added.
Zainal has been recently reported to be Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) pick for the Mentri Besar post in Perak, should they win the state on November 19.
Kuala Sepetang is currently held by BN which previously won the seat with a slim majority of 329 votes in the 2018 election.