AFTER an absence of 28 years, former menteri besar Muhyiddin Yassin is set to contest in a state seat in Johor in the 14th general election.

This is in addition to the Pagoh parliamentary seat he is expected to defend, said a highly placed source in Bersatu.

According to the party official, Muhyiddin can exert more pressure on the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition if he contests both state and federal seats.

“The request that he leads the fight to win Johor came from all the leaders in the (Pakatan Harapan) component parties – PKR, DAP and Amanah,” said the official.

Muhyiddin, who is PH deputy president and Johor chief, held the Bukit Serampang state seat when he was MB from 1986-1995.

The former deputy prime minister began his political career as a federal lawmaker in Pagoh (1978-1986) before moving to a state seat and becoming MB.

After leading Johor for two terms, Muhyiddin went back to Pagoh and held the seat for five terms (1995-present).

The Bukit Serampang seat is currently held by Ismail Mohamed (BN-Umno), who won with 70.2% of the votes against Saadon Abdullah (PKR) in the 2013 election. Bukit Serampang is in the Pagoh federal constituency.

The decision for Muhyiddin to contest two seats was confirmed by another source from DAP.

“We are serious about taking Johor and with his experience, Muhyiddin is the right man to inspire voters, machinery and everybody else,” said the source.

BN is facing a vigorous campaign by PH to unseat them in Johor, which is widely perceived to be an Umno bastion. However, grip of Umno on the state of its birth appears to be slackening.  

A recent survey by the Merdeka Centre revealed that 51% of Johoreans are open to the idea of letting another party govern the state.

Gambir, Tenang and Permas

Meanwhile, another official told The Malaysian Insight that Bersatu has not decided which state seat Muhyiddin will contest in the next election.

“But the seat will come from Bersatu(‘s allocation). Three of the seats we are considering are Tenang, Gambir and Permas,” said the official.

Among the three seats, Permas is expected to be the hardest, as it is held by incumbent MB Mohamed Khaled Nordin.

In the 2013 election, Khaled swapped 23 years of federal politics to take up a state seat and become MB. He previously held the works, higher education, and entrepreneurship and cooperatives portfolios.

In the last election, the 60-year-old Khaled beat PAS’ Syed Othman Abdullah in Permas with 55.9% of the votes. Permas is a state seat in the Pasir Gudang parliamentary constituency.

“It’s never easy to fight the incumbent MB on his home ground but it will be a much anticipated clash of former MB versus current MB,” said the official.

Other seats Bersatu is currently surveying for the 70-year-old Muhyiddin is Gambir and Tenang, said the party official.

Gambir is currently held by M. Asojan Muniyandy (BN-MIC), who won with a razor thin margin of just 0.7%, or 310 votes. He beat PAS’ Mahfodz Mohamed in a four-cornered contest after polling 46.6% of the vote. Gambir comes under the Ledang federal constituency.

Tenang, which is under the Labis constituency, appears to be another tough battle, as the incumbent, Mohd Azahar Ibrahim, won with a margin of 10.9%.

In the last elections, Azahar beat PAS’ Md Zin Johar after polling 54.3% of the votes. – March 25, 2018.