KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 5 — Incumbent Sungai Buloh MP R. Sivarasa today urged the Selangor parliamentary seat constituencies not to give their votes to Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Khairy Jamaluddin as campaigning officially kicks off for the 15th general election.

The PKR man who is sitting out this year’s national polls, ostensibly for health reasons, claimed that votes to Khairy who is from Umno are actually votes for the latter’s party and its president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi who is still on trial on a plethora of criminal and power abuse charges.

"It’s irrelevant whether he’s a nice guy or a bad guy. It’s who he represents. When you vote for Khairy, you actually vote for Zahid,” Sivarasa was quoted as saying by news portal Free Malaysia Today.

He urged Sungai Buloh voters to cast their ballots for his replacement, PKR deputy information chief Datuk R. Ramanan.

But he also told the news portal that he is confident Pakatan Harapan will win comfortably in the urban constituency.

"We have built a big base of support over the last three general elections and won with a comfortable majority (in 2018). So the support is there,” he was quoted as saying.

Sivarasa held the parliamentary seat for a total of three terms — twice when it was named Subang in 2008 and 2013, and again in the 2018 polls with a whopping 26,634 majority after it was renamed Sungai Buloh.

Khairy will be contesting in Selangor for the first time after three terms in Rembau, Negri Sembilan.

With a total of 158,090 registered voters, the Sungai Buloh parliamentary seat is considered one of the most anticipated constituencies.

At least 67,383 of them will be first-time voters after the voting age was lowered from 21 to 18 and automatic voter registration was implemented in September.