Other notable PH candidates for the Johor state election include Batu Pahat MP Onn Abu Bakar, Pulai MP Suhaizan Kayat of Amanah and Johor PKR Youth chief Faezuddin Puad, local news outlet Free Malaysia Today reported.
Onn has been named the coalition’s candidate for Senggarang while Faezuddin will stand in Kempas. Suhaizan – who is a former speaker of the Johor legislative assembly – has been fielded in Larkin.
According to the NST, PH’s electoral line-up reflects a clearly segmented strategy, with DAP allocated 17 seats focused largely on urban strongholds, PKR taking the largest share with 29 constituencies as the main contesting force across mixed and swing areas, while Amanah is fielded in 10 Malay-majority seats concentrated in the southern and rural constituencies.
Also present at the candidate announcement on Monday night were Amanah president Mohamad Sabu and DAP secretary-general Loke Siew Fook.
In his speech, Loke said that a victory in Johor was crucial for the federal government’s stability.
“If we want Anwar to continue as prime minister, we need PH to win in Johor,” he said, adding that the state’s economy grew partly due to the federal government.
The Johor state polls will be held on Jul 11, with nomination day set for Jun 27.
All three major coalitions – BN, PH and Perikatan Nasional (PN) – have announced that they would contest all 56 seats. Currently, 40 of these seats are held by BN, 12 by PH, three by PN and one by MUDA.
Although aligned with PH at the federal level, BN and PH are rivals at the state level in Johor.
The state polls in Johor could potentially see four-cornered fights, with newly relaunched Parti Bersama Malaysia (Bersama) – helmed by two former federal ministers Rafizi Ramli and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad – announcing that their party would enter the race.
Bersama has announced that it will contest 15 state seats, more than half of which were won by BN in the last polls.
The Johor state election also comes amid strains within PN, after component party Parti Islam Se-Malaysia (PAS) announced that it has ended its political cooperation with Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu).
At an emergency meeting on the coalition’s membership on Monday, PN chairman Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar said that the coalition has accepted two new political parties – Parti Pejuang Tanah Air and Parti Cinta Malaysia.
The coalition will be finalising its seat allocation for the upcoming Johor state polls on Tuesday.
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