Report: PKR’s Zainal Azman tipped to be named as Pakatan’s mentri besar candidate for Perak

IPOH, Nov 3 — Former Public Service Department deputy director-general Datuk Zainal Azman Abu Seman is likely to be Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) pick for mentri besar in Perak, should the coalition win the state on November 19.

Zainal, who was announced by PH chairman Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as one of seven high-profile candidates to contest under the coalition in GE15, is expected to contest in Kuala Sepetang for PKR, Malaysiakini reported.

Kuala Sepetang is currently held by BN which previously won the seat with a slim majority of 329 votes in the 2018 election.

Prior to that, the constituency, which comprises about 66 per cent Malay, 26 per cent Chinese and 8 per cent Indians, was won by PKR in the 2008 and 2013 general elections.

Quoting a source, the news portal reported that Zainal would be PH’s mentri besar candidate if the coalition wins the silver state in the 15th general election.

“Zainal has a long history of service in public affairs, including serving as the Perak state secretary during the PH administration, which made him ideal for the post,” the source was quoted as saying.

The 60-year-old recently set up social media accounts and posted photos of his recent activities in Northern Perak.

In a Facebook post yesterday, the former civil servant said he was offering to serve as a state assemblyman in Perak due to his experience in the public sector.

“I urge all young voters in Perak to choose PH this time,” Zainal said.

According to his profile, the Perak native is well educated and has served as Perak state secretary as well as secretary-general of the Ministry of Agriculture and Food Industries.

His latest position was deputy director-general of the Public Service Department.

PKR will be announcing its candidacy for the Perak parliamentary and state seats at 5pm today here.

Previously, the Perak DAP vice chairman Abdul Aziz Bari, who is also the Perak Opposition leader, was rumoured to be PH’s mentri besar candidate.

Barisan Nasional previously named caretaker mentri besar Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad as its mentri besar candidate, while Perikatan Nasional has yet to name its candidates for Perak.