At a press conference today, Bersatu’s Tangga Batu chief said he was disappointed at not being allowed to contest the Tangga Batu parliamentary seat in the upcoming general election (GE15).

While Perikatan Nasional (PN) has yet to make an announcement on the matter, Melaka PAS yesterday said it would be fielding candidates for the Tangga Batu and Jasin parliamentary seats in GE15.

Rafiq previously served as the Melaka Perikatan Nasional and Bersatu chairman but stepped down after failing to win the Telok Mas seat in the Melaka state elections in November 2021.

Rafiq said he was disappointed that his contributions for the past six years to the Tangga Batu constituency were not given due consideration by the party’s leadership when they decided not to field him for the seat.

“I had started several initiatives for the people there, such as the Gerai Prihatin Rakyat, even though I did not receive additional aid as a representative” he said, adding that he refused other seats when offered by the party.

He also noted that it had been a “tradition” for political parties to give members with high positions the priority to be fielded in constituencies that they led.

“After giving it much thought and discussing it with the party’s leadership and my family, I decided to leave my position as the vice-president as well as my positions as chairman of Tangga Batu PN and Tangga Batu Bersatu division chief.

“I’ve also relinquished my lifetime membership with the party with immediate effect,” he said.

He said he had submitted his resignation to party president Muhyiddin Yassin last week.

Rafiq said that for now, he wanted to focus on spending more time with his family and would not be focusing on politics.

“They have been very supportive and have understood my responsibilities as a politician all this while,” he said.

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