KUALA LUMPUR – Pakatan Harapan (PH) will not field a candidate in the Mahkota by-election next month and agrees that Barisan Nasional (BN) should defend the state seat in Johor.
PH secretary-general Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said this was decided last week by the coalition’s top leadership in a meeting chaired by PH chairman and Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
“It was agreed that PH will support the BN candidate to respect the principle of ‘incumbency’ for the seat under contest.
“This is what BN did for the Pulai and Simpang Jeram by-elections last year,” Saifuddin Nasution said in a statement today.
He said PH will give its full support to help BN retain the Mahkota seat.
The seat was vacated following the death of Umno assemblyman Datuk Sharifah Azizah Syed Zain, 63, on August 2, due to an illness.
PH’s statement on the Mahkota seat followed component party Amanah, particularly its Kluang division in Johor, calling for a chance to contest for the seat. These calls prompted rebukes from Umno figures.
Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who is also BN chairman, today said the candidate will be announced after the unity government secretariat meets next week.
The deputy prime minister said all parties in the unity government respect the incumbency principle in elections, whereby the party currently holding a seat is the one to defend it in an election.
The Election Commission has set voting for Mahkota on September 28. Nomination day will be on September 14, and early voting on September 24. – August 17, 2024