Tajuddin, who was slapped with a six-year suspension just two months before GE15, expressed confidence that he would be serving his fourth term as Pasir Salak MP now if he had accepted the offer.

He pointed to former Umno duo Shahidan Kassim and Ismail Abdul Muttalib, who were fielded by PAS and defended their Arau and Maran parliamentary seats respectively.

Tajuddin claimed that PAS even delayed the announcement of Jamaludin Yahya as Perikatan Nasional’s candidate for Pasir Salak while waiting for his reply.

“But I just said ‘thank you’, because I have been with Umno for 50 years. I’ve been with the party through thick and thin. I was even sacked in 1995 due to the political turmoil in Umno at the time.

“I love Umno, and it’s unfair for me to abandon the party when it has done so much for me. It’s not right to be loyal to the party in good times but leave when things get tough,” he said in an interview with FMT.

In GE15, Barisan Nasional (BN) fielded Khairul Azwan Harun for the Pasir Salak seat. He lost to Jamaludin, who won with a 5,003-vote majority ahead of the Umno man.

Umno lifted Tajuddin’s suspension last week, reinstating the former Prasarana Malaysia Bhd chairman as a party member.

Tajuddin said he was grateful for the Umno Supreme Council’s decision, adding that he had repeatedly appealed against his suspension and was willing to wait out the full six years to be reinstated as an Umno member.

He also said he had continued to serve Pasir Salak folk despite no longer being their MP, opening his own service centre and claiming to have spent tens of thousands of ringgit in a week at times to help the people.

The Umno veteran however said he had no intention of contesting the seat, or even the post of Pasir Salak Umno chief.

“I just want to see Umno rise again. I will accept anyone (as a candidate) to help redeem BN’s loss in GE15, though we should avoid fielding candidates recklessly.”