IT is “premature” for Pejuang to announce its Johor menteri besar candidate now, said party president Mukhriz Mahathir.

He was speaking in response to speculation that Johor Pejuang chairman Shahruddin Md Salleh is the party’s MB candidate.

“For now, we are not making the announcement… I think that would be rather premature because we have to win the elections first before anyone can be appointed menteri besar,” he told reporters after attending a breakfast programme in Muar today.

Yesterday, Pejuang announced that it will contest 42 seats in the state polls, naming Shahruddin, who is the Sri Gading MP, as its candidate for Machap.

Mukhriz said the target now is to ensure the party’s victory in the state election, rather than just the victory of one candidate.

“I have learnt from Pakatan Harapan’s experience in Malacca, where the focus was only on the chief ministerial candidate. Yes, he won, but others did not.

“I had the same experience in Kedah. I was named the MB candidate but I know I have to campaign for other candidates too. There’s no use in winning alone, you cannot be the MB that way, though you may end up being the opposition leader. But, that’s not our target,” he said.

Meanwhile, Mukhriz also expressed hope that Pejuang’s offerings were acceptable to the voters even though the party was new and did not have a track record in governing a state.

Nomination for the Johor polls is tomorrow, early voting on March 8 and polling on March 12. – Bernama, February 25, 2022.