PETALING JAYA: The decision to field Mohd Nizar Najib in the Pekan parliamentary seat will ensure the seat is safe to be returned to his father Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak to contest if the latter is released from prison later.
According to Mazlan Ali, senior lecturer with the Perdana Centre, Razak Faculty of Technology and Informatics, Mohd Nizar is seen as a “stand-in” for the latter, in the parliamentary seat, Malaysiakini reports.
“Najib will one day return to his place (Pekan). Nizar is seen as representing his father.
“Others will not dare to jostle for the seat. Pekan is Najib’s legacy seat, and people respect that,“ Mazlan told Malaysiakini.
He also added that voters in Pekan will not easily forget the service provided by Najib’s family, including his father Tun Abdul Razak.
Meanwhile, Universiti Malaya political analyst Awang Azman Pawi said Nizar’s young age (44) is no deterrence to being elected a parliamentarian.
This is because Najib himself was elected Pekan MP (when he was 23).
Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) political analyst Jamaie Hamil echoed similar sentiment, saying fielding Nizar in Pekan will give BN an “easy victory”.
