JOHOR BARU: Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) Kluang has demanded an opportunity to contest in the upcoming Mahkota state assembly by-election, following the vacancy caused by the death of its incumbent, Datuk Sharifah Azizah Syed Zain, recently.
Amanah Kluang chief Dr. Mohd Zuhan Mohd Zain said the party had previously won the Mahkota seat during the 14th General Election (GE14) and contested again in the 2022 state elections.
He said Umno Kluang had made it clear that they are unwilling to cooperate with 'one' of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) components.
"This open statement has deeply hurt our grassroots members and it (the statement) threatens to fracture the PH-Barisan Nasional (BN) relationship in Johor," he told a press conference today.
He alleged that while the federal and several state governments practice unity governance, Johor's government does not reflect a similar approach.
"PH Johor, despite maintaining a cordial relationship, has not been given any significant role in the state government.
"Umno, which is dominant in Johor's government, does not seem serious about fostering unity with PH.
"They have even openly declared their intention to seize several Amanah-held seats in Johor," he said.
Citing data analysis of GE15, Dr. Mohd Zuhan expressed confidence that a PH candidate could secure a comfortable win in the Mahkota seat.
"Therefore, Amanah Kluang demands that our party's candidate represent PH and the unity government in the Mahkota by-election.
"The unity government leadership must urgently address this issue," he said.
The Election Commission announced it will hold a special meeting on Aug 13 to discuss the Mahkota by-election.
State Assembly Speaker Datuk Dr. Mohd Puad Zarkashi announced the unexpected vacancy due to Datuk Sharifah Azizah's death on Aug 2.
Barisan Nasional also declared its readiness for the by-election.
BN chairman Datuk Seri Dr. Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said BN is prepared for the Mahkota by-election following the recently concluded Nenggiri by-election.
In the March 2022 Johor State Election, BN's Sharifah Azizah won the Mahkota seat with 16,611 votes, securing a majority of 5,166.
She defeated PH's Taqiuddin Cheman, who garnered 11,445 votes, Perikatan Nasional (PN) candidate Mohamad Nor Lingan (7,614 votes) and Warisan's Mohamed Noor Suleiman, with 555 votes.
In GE14, Amanah's Muhammad Said Jonit, using the PKR logo, won the Mahkota seat with 19,507 votes with a majority of 1,668, defeating BN's Datuk Jais Sarday and Pas' Hasbullah Najib.
Dr. Mohd Zuhan said Amanah Kluang had shortlisted several potential candidates for consideration to present to Amanah Johor and the central leadership.
However, he said the party will respect the final decision made by PH leadership on the Mahkota by-election candidates.
"Amanah Kluang will heed our grassroots members' voices… we are prepared for any scenarios, whether it's a two-way or three-way contest," he added.