KLUANG: Perikatan Nasional (PN) will submit three names to its central leadership to be considered as candidates in the upcoming Mahkota by-election.
Johor PN chairman Datuk Dr Sahruddin Jamal said the list of three local male candidates consisting of new and old faces was decided at a series of previous meetings and will be submitted this week.
He said the announcement of the candidate would be made by PN chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin after the completion of the Nenggiri by-election.
"Today Johor PN has just finished the preparatory meeting for the Mahkota by-election. We have held a series of meetings.
"This is the first meeting after the Election Commission announced the date.
"God willing we are in PN with Pas, Gerakan and Bersatu to ensure that we can win the Mahkota seat.
"In the past, the candidate was from Bersatu, but we in Johor have left it to the central leadership to decide. The important thing is to be united.
"So far we have sent three names, three men, some of them are first-time candidates and some have contested before."
He said this at a press conference at the Bersatu Kluang office in Taman Saujana here, today.
When asked about the PN's confidence in seizing the Mahkota state seat, Sahruddin said he was confident that there would be a shift in people's support for PN based on the sentiment of current issues including the increase in the price of goods.
"Looking at the current situation with the unstable economy, the rising price of goods, the price of diesel, and the Sales and Service Tax (SST), God willing there will be a 'swing' for PN," he said.
The Election Commission yesterday fixed Sept 28 for the Mahkota by-election, following the death of its incumbent, Datuk Sharifah Azizah Syed Zin on August 2.
EC chairman Datuk Seri Ramlan Harun said that the dates for the nomination of candidates and early voting were set for Sept 14 and 24 respectively.
In the Johor state election held in March 2022, Sharifah Azizah who was a Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate won the Mahkota state assembly seat with 16,611 votes and recorded a majority of 5,166.
She defeated the Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate, Taqiuddin Cheman who obtained 11,445 votes. Perikatan Nasional (PN) candidate Mohamad Nor Lingan received 7,614 votes while Warisan candidate Mohamed Noor Suleiman polled 555 votes.