JOHOR BAHRU, Aug 25 — With six states having concluded elections recently, the heat shifts to the southern peninsula where by-elections for the Pulai parliamentary and Simpang Jeram state seats begin tomorrow.
Nominations for the two seats will be held from 9am to 10am at Dewan Jubli Intan Sultan Ibrahim for the Pulai polls and Dewan Jubli Intan Sultan Ibrahim in Muar for the Simpang Jeram polls.
The Johor Election Office said 22 sets of nomination forms have been sold so far to several political parties, including Amanah, PAS and Perikatan Nasional (PN), as well as Independent candidates.
The two constituencies are expected to see stiff competition, with Pakatan Harapan (Harapan) pitting two protégés of the late Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub, whose passing left the seats vacant, against PN candidates.
Harapan’s Pulai candidate is former Johor assembly speaker Suhaizan Kaiat, who was also Salahuddin’s political secretary.
Suhaizan, who will be contesting on an Amanah ticket, is expected to face Pulai Bersatu deputy chief Zulkifli Jaafa.
For Simpang Jeram, Harapan is betting on Bakri Amanah deputy chief Nazri Abdul Rahman, an engineer, to defend the seat against PN candidate Dr Mohd Mazri Yahya, a surgeon.
Meanwhile, Kuala Lumpur Consumer Safety Association president Samsudin Mohamad Fauzihas has said he will file his nomination as an Independent candidate for the Pulai seat.
The by-elections were called following Salahuddin’s death on July 23.
Salahuddin, who was Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister, was also Amanah deputy president.
In the March 2022 Johor elections, Harapan won 13 seats, while Barisan Nasional (BN) dominated the Johor assembly with 40 seats, and PN won three.
In the November 2022 general election, Harapan won 15 parliamentary seats in Johor with Amanah winning two of them, while BN won nine and PN won two.
— Bernama
