Utusan Malaysia has speculated that former premier Najib Abdul Razak’s son Mohd Nizar is the “best candidate” to replace his father in Pekan.
The article, which does not cite any sources, said Nizar was a good candidate for the parliamentary constituency in Pahang because his father and his late grandfather wielded influence in the area.
“It is widely known that the Pekan parliamentary seat is part of Abdul Razak Hussein’s legacy. If Nizar is the (BN) candidate for this year, he will continue that legacy,” read the report.
Abdul Razak was elected as the Pekan MP in 1959 and held on to the seat until he passed on in 1976. He was the prime minister from 1970 to 1976.
Najib was elected as the Pekan MP at the age of 23. He was the Menteri besar of Pahang from 1982 to 1986, and then the prime minister from 2009 until 2018.
However, the report speculated that Nizar might also be fielded as a BN candidate for one of four state seats under the Pekan parliamentary constituency.
Nizar spent 18 years at Deloitte before becoming the head of the economic and human capital bureau of the Pahang Social Action Council – a state government agency.
The 44-year-old is the eldest of Najib’s five children and is the Pekan division Umno Youth chief.
Najib is at the final appeal stage against his conviction on seven charges of abuse of power and misappropriation of RM42 million funds belonging to SRC International.
Should Najib lose the appeal, he will likely face jail and thus disqualify him from defending the Pekan seat which he has successfully defended nine times.