PETALING JAYA, Oct 26 — Nik Omar Nik Aziz, who stood as an Amanah candidate in the last general election, kept mum about his party membership, after he was revealed as a PKR candidate for Perak by party president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

He said this was secondary, as both Amanah and PKR fall under the Pakatan Harapan (PH) umbrella.

"I am in PH; that is why Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim did not say anything about parties. He said Pakatan Harapan.

"The announcement earlier is a wasilah (act) to show Malaysians how massively committed PH is to fighting for Malaysians,” he told the media at PKR headquarters after Anwar’s announcement today.

Nik Omar also recalled the legacy of his father — PAS spiritual leader and former Kelantan mentri besar Datuk Seri Nik Aziz Nik Mat — that changed Malaysia for the better against the Umno-Barisan Nasional administration.

"If you followed Tok Guru, he always said he was waiting for the time when Anwar became prime minister. I am following that spirit and helping DSAI towards that end and ensuring he becomes one.

"He has (met) enough conditions with his experience, ability and integrity. We can see that throughout his life, he has fought for justice for all Malaysians,” he said.

Nik Omar was one of seven community leaders announced by Anwar as candidates for the party and PH in GE15.

He contested under the Amanah quota for PH for his father’s seat in the Chempaka state assembly in 2018, but failed to garner more than 10 per cent of the vote.

In addition to Nik Omar, Anwar also announced that the former secretary-general of the Ministry of Agriculture Datuk Zainal Azman Abu Seman would be standing in Perak.

He was secretary to the Perak government when PH took over the state administration after GE14 and was transferred to a special placement position in the Public Service Department (JPA) in December 2019.

Prior to retiring last July, his final post was deputy director-general of Public Services (Operations) at JPA.