KUALA LUMPUR: It is said that Member of Parliament for Wangsa Maju Datin Paduka Dr. Tan Yee Kew may not contest in the 15th general election, and Parti Keadilan Rakyat Wangsa Maju chairman Andre Lai will likely defend the parliamentary seat.

Tan Yee Kew contested the Wangsa Maju seat on PKR ticket for the first time in 2018, winning with a convincing majority of 24,238 votes against MCA’s Datuk Seri Yew Teong Look.

Given her outstanding service as elected rep in Wangsa Majur these few years, Tan is widely anticipated to win in the next election, if she defends the seat.

However, it is said that she has no intention of running in the next election, and will let her assistant Andrei Lai defend the seat.

Lai, who has been Tan’s assistant after the 2018 election, is familiar with the various issues in Wangsa Maju, and has been well known among the local residents.

“Young voters nowadays prefer a candidate who has been serving them all these years,” a source told Sin Chew Daily.

“However, as Lai lacks political experience, we won’t know whether he will eventually be fielded, even with Tan Yee Kew’s blessing.”

The source said Wangsa Maju being a relatively safe constituency for the party, may see more potential contenders trying to get fielded here.

Another factor is that PKR may also consider fielding a Malay candidate given the increased number of Malay voters in the constituency which is traditionally reserved for Chinese candidates.