JOHOR BARU, August 8 — Former Johor state legislature Suhaizan Kaiat is expected to be the sole candidate in the Pulai parliamentary constituency, replacing former Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub as MP.
A Johor Party Amanah Negara (Amanah) source with knowledge of the candidate selection process said Suhaizan’s name is the only one suggested by the Pulai division to the party’s state leadership.
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“After a regular review process, Johor Amanah will present her name to the party’s national leadership as a potential candidate for the Pulai parliamentary by-election.
“This is also a strong sign that Suheyzan, who was also Saladin’s political secretary before his death, has the full support of the Amanah department as the only candidate to represent them as a potential MP,” the source said. Malay Post last night.
Salahuddin, the elected representative of Pulai and Simpang Jeram, died on July 23 after an aneurysm earlier that week.
The source added that by convention, at least three names from a chapter must be given to Johor Amanah for review before they can be submitted to the national leadership for approval.
“Usually the first name is the preferred candidate, followed by the second and third options.
“So for the Pulai and Simpang Jeram by-elections, there must be at least six names listed as potential candidates, which is three suggested names from one section,” the source said.
Another Johor Amanah source said Suhaizan’s only nomination was a deliberate move to send the message that the party base has made his choice and is not willing for others to compete for the top candidate.
He said this was also a signal for Amanah to step down as national leader after speculation that several of the party’s top leaders were willing to run in the Pulai parliamentary by-election.
“Suhaizan’s sole nomination, although not yet confirmed by the national leadership, is considered by Johor Amanah as the next best person to follow Salahuddin’s parliamentary work and also continue in the Rahmah concept.
“As Saladin’s former deputy, Suhaizan understands the expected duties and responsibilities as Pulai’s elected representative,” the source said.
Another Johor Amanah source from the youth wing agreed that informally nominating Suhaizan as the sole candidate would save time and avoid the speculation issue that can sometimes split the party.
However, the source also pointed out that the move had the opposite effect for Simpang Jeram, whose Bakri division failed to submit any candidate names last night.
“Usually this indicates that a partition-level problem is starting to occur.
“The department may have expressed its unhappiness by not presenting any proposed candidates for Simpang Jeram,” he said.
Johor Amanah president Aminolhuda Hassan previously confirmed that only one name was proposed among several for the Pulai parliamentary seat.
However, he refused to reveal the name and called for the postponement of the proposed list of candidates, which is expected to be announced to reporters at the party’s government office in Bandar Baru Kangkar Pulai in Skudai.
Aminolhuda said the party’s full list of candidates for both the Pulai parliamentary constituency and the Simpang Jeram provincial seat will only be finalized on 13 August.
Suhaizan is known to have been politically active prior to his appointment as the Johor state legislator from 2018 to 2022.
The 50-year-old politician began his career as a student activist before becoming PAS Youth leader who later co-founded Amanah in 2015.
Aminolhuda made it clear that the final name of a candidate is not under the party’s state division, it would be a decision to be made by the national leadership.
“For us in the state, we have our own criteria for our proposed candidate to be a Johorean of good character and honesty.
“However, the final election is made by the national leadership, and at the provincial level we will just take note,” he told reporters after chairing a special meeting that included the upcoming Pulai parliament and Simpang Jeram provincial constituency midterm elections.
Aminolhuda added that Johor Amanah also did not underestimate the two by-elections in the state, despite the party’s incumbent seats.
He said that for both by-elections, the electoral mechanism will play an important role in determining the victory of the candidates.
“As two seats can no longer be considered safe seats, the electoral mechanism also needs to be well mobilized, especially to deal with midterm elections.
“We know, [political] Although Umno and its president have announced that they will hand over the two seats to Amanah, the atmosphere today is quite different.
“We need consistent collaboration with the BN as seen in the upcoming state elections,” he said.
Upon the possibility of Amanah’s national communications chief Khalid Abdul Samad and Salahuddin’s daughter Siti Fatihah to run for Pulai and Simpang Jeram by-elections, Aminolhuda emphasized that the Johor branch of the party will not have a say in this matter.
“This decision will be at the national level,” he said, in response to recent speculation that Khalid could be named as the Pulai parliamentary candidate.
The Election Commission has set the nomination day for the by-elections for the Pulai parliamentary seat and Simpang Jeram state seat on August 26.
Early voting will take place on September 5, and polling day on September 9.
After the death of the incumbent Salahuddin, the minister of internal trade and cost of living, on July 23, by-elections were held.
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