Though Azmin had told reporters he had no plans to contest in the state polls, Hasnul dismissed this as a mere “political trick”, adding that rumours the former Selangor menteri besar would contest in Morib were not new.

“There has been talk of him coming here for two months now,” he told FMT. “I think he just wants to see people’s reaction (to him not contesting in the state polls)”.

“I welcome him to come (and contest in) Morib if he wants to. One of the issues that Perikatan Nasional (PN) frequently plays up is how candidates should be a local, so if he wants to contest against a local, go ahead.”

However, Hasnul, who is also the Selangor state assembly’s deputy speaker, admitted that Azmin had not been seen around the constituency since the 15th general election (GE15) campaign period.

Yesterday, FMT quoted a Bersatu source as saying that Azmin was likely to be fielded in Morib, a “safe” seat, instead of defending Bukit Antarabangsa. However, the source said, this depended on the party leadership’s final decision.

In response, the former PKR deputy president was reported to have said that he did not plan to throw his hat into the ring in the state elections.

He added that he will be sticking to the decision he made six months ago, after failing to defend the Gombak parliamentary seat in GE15, that is to take a break from politics.

In GE15, Azmin, who is assemblyman for Bukit Antarabangsa, lost by nearly 13,000 votes to Selangor PKR chief Amirudin Shari.

Morib is a state seat in the Kuala Langat parliamentary constituency. In the 2018 general election (GE14), Hasnul, who is from Amanah, won the state seat for a second term.

However, in GE15, PN won Kuala Langat, which was held by PKR for three terms, with a majority of 1,833 votes.