KLUANG: Former Johor footballer Mohamad Haizan Jaafar, 61, will represent Perikatan Nasional (PN) in the upcoming Mahkota by-election scheduled for Sept 28.
PN Secretary-General Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin announced Haizan's candidacy to the PN machinery at the PN Mahkota State Assembly operations room in Kampung Melayu earlier today.
Hamzah stated that Haizan, affectionately known as Coach Haizan, hails from Layang Layang, Renggam, and holds a Diploma in Fitness from Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM).
"Coach Haizan is well-known in this community and received the Excellent Public Service Award in 2002 and 2016 during his tenure as a sports assistant. He has represented Johor in various tournaments, including Piala Presiden Johor, Piala Razak Johor and Piala Emas Raja Johor," Hamzah said.
Also present were Bersatu Selangor chief and supreme council member Datuk Seri Azmin Ali, Bersatu Johor chairman Datuk Dr Sahruddin Jamal, and Johor Pas Commissioner Abdullah Husin.
Earlier reports had speculated that Coach Haizan, a Bersatu Kluang committee member, along with Kluang Division Chief Mohamad Nor Lingan, 48, and Kluang Deputy Chief Dzulkarnain Alias, were among the potential candidates for the Mahkota by-election.
On Aug 4, the Mahkota seat was declared vacant following the passing of the late Datuk Sharifah Azizah Syed Zain on August 2.
The Election Commission (EC) has scheduled the nomination and early voting for the Mahkota by-election on Sept 14 and Sept 24, respectively, with polling day set for Sept 28.