KUANTAN: Datuk Mohamad Nizar Mohamad Najib (pic) will not get to defend Pekan, the seat held by his father and grandfather before that, but he still has a chance to prove himself to the electorate.
The eldest son of jailed former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has been named as Barisan Nasional’s candidate for the Peramu Jaya state seat within the Pekan parliamentary constituency.
Speculation had been rife that Nizar would be the man to succeed his father in Pekan but this was not the case. Instead, Datuk Seri Sh Mohmed Puzi Sh Ali was announced as the Barisan candidate.
Nizar will take Sh Mohmed Puzi’s place in the state seat.
Nizar said he would not simply rely on sympathy votes.
“The people want to see development and what kind of service we can provide to the local community. We cannot just hope for sympathy votes.
“My father and my family have always served the people, especially the people of Pekan. I will continue this legacy to the best of my abilities,” he said after the announcement of Pahang Barisan candidates here yesterday.
The Pekan seat had been in the Najib family since 1959 when it was first won by his grandfather Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, the country’s second prime minister.
Except for a gap from 1982 to 1986, Najib held the seat since 1976 after Razak died.
In 1982, Najib contested and won the Bandar Pekan state seat, and was appointed as the Pahang mentri besar at the age of 29.
In GE14, he retained Pekan but fell short of achieving his target of a 40,000-vote majority.
Najib won with a majority of 24,859 votes, defeating PAS’ Ahiatudin Daud, Bersatu’s Muhammad Zahid Md Arip and Independent Abd Kadir Sainudin.
