In a Facebook post, the former deputy law minister thanked Zahid for visiting and showing interest in his constituency, adding that any party or coalition was free to contest the parliamentary seat.

“On my part, I will not underestimate the strength of Umno-BN,” Hanipa said.

“Pakatan Harapan, Amanah and I are underdogs when compared to Umno-BN, but this is all part of democracy.”

Yesterday, Zahid, who is also Umno president, was reported to have said that BN must create a “political tsunami” to recapture the Sepang seat in GE15.

He said BN has the potential to reclaim Sepang, after having lost the seat in GE13 in May 2013.

“A BN victory is highly possible if frequent visits are made by Bossku and the constituency’s ‘adopted father’ Zambry Abd Kadir,” Zahid said.

He was referring to former prime minister Najib Razak and the former Perak menteri besar, who is chairman of Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad, which has its headquarters in Sepang.