An Umno Youth leader has challenged former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad to contest against Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak in Pekan, Pahang.

Pekan Umno Youth chief Shahruddin Ahmad told reporters today that the contest would prove Mahathir’s worth as a leader.

“If it is true Mahathir has vast experience serving as the prime minister for 22 years, if it is true Mahathir is a man, come and contest in Pekan,” said Shahruddin, according to KiniTV.

At a press conference in Ampang, he also urged all Umno Youth division leaders to remain loyal to their leaders, for the sake of Islam, the Malays and the nation. 

Najib inherited the Pekan parliamentary seat from his father, the late Abdul Razak Hussein, in 1976. 

Since then, he had never lost the seat, securing a majority of 35,613 votes against PKR’s Mohd Fariz Musa in the 13th general election. 

The constituency currently has 80,260 registered voters, with an 88 percent Malay majority. 

Mahathir, now 92, had previously hinted that he would be up to contest against Najib if there was no better candidate from Pakatan Harapan. 

Umno vice-president Hishammuddin Hussein then dared Mahathir to make good on his word and contest against Najib, to which the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia chairperson responded by calling on Hishammuddin to come and contest in Langkawi. 

At that time, Mahathir also claimed that Pekan is a kawasan hantu raya (an area with ghosts) and not a kawasan pilihanraya (an election area) because the number of voters in the constituency kept changing.