Star candidate and controversial doctor in race to replace Craig Laundy in Reid

Star state election candidate Scott Yung and controversial psychiatrist Tanveer Ahmed have emerged as the leading contenders to represent the Liberal Party in the federal seat of Reid.

Prime Minister Scott Morrison has struggled to fill the vacancy left by departing MP Craig Laundy, with former deputy police commissioner Nick Kaldas and television presenter Stan Grant both rejecting offers to run.

Scott Yung, right, and NSW Treasurer Dominic Perrottet campaigning in Hurstville during the state election.Credit: Dominic Lorrimer

Mr Laundy holds the seat on a margin of 4.7 per cent, and the Liberals' strong result at the NSW election has given the party fresh hope of retaining it with the right candidate.

On Saturday Mr Yung achieved an 8 per cent swing to him in the state seat of Kogarah, and tied with Labor frontbencher and leadership contender Chris Minns for first preferences.

The Sydney-born Chinese Australian would not confirm whether he would nominate but party sources said he has been encouraged by senior Liberals to run.

"My end goal is to make a difference, whether it’s in state or federal politics, in business or in charity, 100 per cent," he said.

"People want someone who’s not a typical politician, they want someone they can trust and to gain that trust you have to be authentic and genuine."

Mr Yung, 26, became a serious threat in the Labor stronghold of Kogarah after video emerged in the last week of the election campaign of Labor leader Michael Daley telling a Blue Mountains pub audience that "Asians with PhDs … are moving in and taking jobs".

Like Kogarah, Reid has a significant cohort of Chinese Australians. If he chooses to run, Mr Yung will have network of supporters and volunteers still energised from the state campaign.

"They’re still pumped," he said.

Mr Ahmed, a Bangladeshi-born psychiatrist on the conservative end of the Liberal Party, was expecting party endorsement for the seat but has been blindsided by a last-minute push from supporters of Mr Yung.

Tanveer Ahmed campaigning for the Liberal Party during the 2008 council elections.Credit: Nick Moir

"Yes, I'd like to run for the seat of Reid," he told The Sydney Morning Herald and The Age.

"Reid represents the kaleidoscope of Australian races, creeds and faiths. My wife and two kids are the very epitome of a modern Australian family.

"We use the schools, parks, all the facilities of the area and have done so for over a decade."

Dr Ahmed was a Canada Bay councillor and is president of the Drummoyne Public School Parents and Citizens association. However, his appeal will be undermined by controversies over his journalism. He was dropped by the Herald in 2012 after the ABC's Media Watch said he had plagiarised content in his columns.

In 2015, he was dumped by The Australian newspaper after further accusations of plagiarism. Asked about these incidents on Monday, Dr Ahmed said: "They were technical errors of attribution from someone who is not a professional journalist. I'm not proud of that mistake but like politics, mistakes in journalism all happen in public."

He now writes regularly for the Australian Financial Review.

Dr Ahmed has urgently sought to rid himself of any constitutional problems under section 44. He says he has legal advice that he is not a Bangladeshi citizen, but has also taken steps to renounce any citizenship he may hold.