The much-anticipated “brother vs brother” contest for the Johor Baru parliamentary seat in the upcoming 14th General Election may not take place.

“No, I wouldn’t want to go against him. This would just break my mother’s heart,”  said Parti Amanah Negara's Khalid Samad, who is also Shah Alam MP, when asked if he would be fielded in Johor Baru.

Khalid's brother, Umno supreme council member Tan Sri Shahrir Samad, has contested and won the Johor Baru constituency since the 1978 general election.

While it is almost certain that Khalid would be moved from his Shah Alam seat to a seat in Johor in GE14, he has ruled out the possibility of going against Shahrir.

Khalid added there are many other parliamentary seats in the southern state.

Last week, Khalid, who is Amanah's communications director, said he may give up his Shah Alam seat to make way for Amanah president Mohamad Sabu.

He added this was because it was important for the party president to contest in a seat they deemed to be “safe” such as Shah Alam.

Khalid, 60, became a first-time MP when he won the Shah Alam seat under the PAS ticket in the 2008 general election. He retained his seat in the 2013 elections.

However, he left PAS and joined Amanah following a fallout with PAS leaders in 2015.

Khalid said that he was not worried about being moved to Johor or being dubbed a “parachute candidate” – a candidate who does not live in the area he is contesting or has little connection to it.

He added that, besides Shahrir, he has family roots in Johor as his parents are from Muar.

Shahrir, 68, who is Felda chairman, has also voiced his intention to defend the seat in the general election, to be held by August next year.

He recently said he is ready to face anyone whom Pakatan Harapan intends to field in Johor Baru, including his younger brother.

Source:
courtesy of THE STAR

by Rahmah Ghazali

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