Malaysian Paralympic Council president Megat D Shahriman Zaharudin is contesting on a Bersatu ticket in the three-cornered race for the Seri Menanti seat.KUALA PILAH: Contesting the Negeri Sembilan state election as a Bersatu candidate, Malaysian Paralympic Council president Megat D Shahriman Zaharudin says he is not driven by political ambition but a desire to represent the disabled community in policymaking.Having spent nearly a decade working with para athletes, Megat said it was time he took his struggle to the political arena to push for holistic changes for the community."The disabled community remains largely sidelined and outcast and I don't want that to continue," he told FMT, adding that he was not a parachute candidate.Megat said political power was needed to ensure issues pertaining to the disabled community's welfare and rights could be championed more effectively.He admitted that politics was very different from the sports arena, as he now has to address the sentiments and emotions shared by the general public."Politics involves a greater number of people and various current issues. But the principle is the same: I must go to the ground, meet as many voters as I can, and explain what I'm offering," he said.Megat is in a three-cornered race against Pakatan Harapan's Kamarul Arifin Wafa and Barisan Nasional's Sufian Maradzi for the Seri Menanti seat.Sufian won the Seri Menanti seat in the March 2023 state polls when BN and PH contested as allies, winning with a very slim 370-vote majority. The Malay-majority seat has been held by Umno since 1959.Megat admitted to being the underdog in his maiden election outing but was confident that his hard work on the ground would allow him to offer Sufian some fierce competition."Although I was born in Seremban, my family has close ties with Seri Menanti.
I have long been active in conducting various programmes in this area," he said.
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