Another aide of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has been speculated to enter the 14th general election battle.

Umno sources told Malaysiakini that Najib's political secretary Jailani Ngah may be fielded in the state seat of Batu Rakit in Terengganu.

If he wins, Jailani Ngah may also be considered for the post of Terengganu menteri besar.

Umno's Bazlan Abd Rahman won Batu Rakit with 7,008 votes to PAS' 5,373 votes.

The sources said incumbent Terengganu Menteri Besar Ahmad Razif Abd Rahman may be moved to a federal seat, possibly in Kuala Nerus.

PAS' Mohd Khairuddin Aman Razali won the Kuala Nerus seat with 33,251 votes to BN's 32,861 votes.

Jailani, 44, graduated in syariah law from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and is the chairperson of the special haj programme sponsored by 1MDB.

He has served as Najib's political secretary for two terms.

The speculation on replacing Razif with a member of Najib's inner circle arose amid complaints that Razif was not able to unify a fractured Umno in Terengganu.

"Razif is seen as not being able to stabilise the local political situation," said the source.

Razif's appointment as Terengganu menteri besar in May 2014 almost led to the collapse of the state government.

The incumbent menteri besar and Kijal assemblyperson, Ahmad Said, became upset at being replaced and announced his resignation from Umno.

Ahmad was joined by Ajil assemblyperson Ghazali Taib and later Bukit Besi assemblyperson Rosli Daud.

This caused BN to lose its majority in the 32-seat state assembly. With three Umno assemblypersons becoming independent, BN was left with 14 seats while PAS and PKR had a combined number of 15 seats.

However, the crisis was averted after Najib intervened and the trio retracted their resignation letters.

Can help stabilise Terengganu politics

The source claimed Jailani's syariah law background was a plus for Terengganu and that he was supposedly more acceptable by the Terengganu palace.

The Terengganu palace had in May 2016 stripped Razif (photo) of all his titles, prompting Najib to intervene yet again. Razif's title was restored in December the same year.

However, the reason for the Terengganu palace's initial unhappiness with Razif was never explained.

"He can help to stabilise Terengganu politics, its political leaders and the division chiefs.

"He also has influence among PAS leaders," the source said.

Malaysiakini has reached out to both Jailani and Razif and is awaiting their responses.

In Malacca, MCA plans to field Najib's political secretary Wong Nai Chee, who is also an appointed MCA central committee member, in Alor Gajah.

However, the plan sparked a rebellion among the local BN ranks, who insisted that they want the incumbent Alor Gajah MP, Koh Nai Kwong, to be retained.