He said Umno’s seat allocation system did not allow him to move from Padang Rengas.
Mahathir, the chairman of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM), recently became the party’s Langkawi division chief. The constituency is seen as one of his strongholds. He served there as a doctor in the 1950s and oversaw its development when he was prime minister.
Nazri said the only way for anyone to defeat him in an election was to challenge him on his turf. He has occupied the Padang Rengas seat since 2004.
“Mahathir should know better,” he said. “He was the Barisan Nasional president for many years and I shouldn’t have to teach him. He knows how the system works.”
Mahathir issued his challenge as a response to a statement Nazri made upon learning that the former premier and PPBM president Muhyiddin Yassin were due to visit Padang Rengas this month. He dared either man to fight him for the Padang Rengas seat.
Nazri has a history of feuding with Mahathir since the former PM started becoming critical of the Najib administration.
He repeated his challenge to Mahathir with a taunt. He told him not to be “a boy, but a man” and fight him in Padang Rengas.