PONTIAN, Feb 7 — As the Johor polls looms near, Parti Warisan (Warisan) is upbeat over the possibility of contesting in the southern state with the final decision to be made within the next few days.

Warisan vice-president Datuk Junz Wong said the party is serious about the matter and have taken several steps before the decision is made.

"In fact, I will be finalising an assessment report by tomorrow on the need for Warisan to contest in the upcoming Johor state election.

"The report will then be sent to party president Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal who is expected to make an announcement based on the report within the next few days,” said Wong to reporters in Warung 800, Pekan Nenas here late last night.

He said this at a ceremony where he accepted more than 300 membership forms from former Tanjung Piai Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) division members.

Present at the ceremony was Tanjung Piai Bersatu’s former secretary Hishamuddin Busri, treasurer Mohd Rashid Alfred Abdul Rahman Heinrich and other former division leaders.

Wong revealed that Mohd Shafie will also be in Johor Baru on February 15 for the official launch of Warisan’s Johor chapter.

However, he declined to say if an announcement on the party taking part in the state polls will be made on the date.

On Warisan’s foray in to the southern state, Wong said the momentum for Warisan in Johor looks promising with the party aspiring to be an alternative to the more established political outfits.

In addition, he said there were many seasoned members among its new Johor ranks who are prepared to campaign for Warisan if the party takes part in the coming polls.

"However, I will leave the decision on the party’s participation in the Johor state election to the president (Mohd Shafie),” said the Tanjung Aru assemblyman.

Wong also pointed out that Warisan has not been approached by any Pakatan Harapan (PH) representatives to discuss cooperation in the Johor state election as the party has yet to decide on its participation.

He added that the party has also not signed any memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the main Opposition coalition.

"In the event that the party takes part, Warisan as a political party does not wish to clash with PH and is only keen to provide an alternative choice to voters,” he said.

Yesterday, Berita Harian reported that Warisan’s federal lawmaker Datuk Mohd Azis Jamman gave the impression that the party was prepared to participate in the Johor state election together with the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda).

He hinted that the joint collaboration would possibly be announced by Mohd Shafie and Muda president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman soon.

At present, Warisan has a national alliance with Muda and is also reported to be open to working with other parties in facing the upcoming 15th general election (GE15).

Both parties champion the people on their multiracial political platforms to unite Malaysians.

For the upcoming Johor polls, Muda has been reported to be negotiating their seat allocation with PH.

However, it is still too early to see if Muda will exit the negotiations in favour of joining Warisan as a political pact.

Besides Barisan Nasional (BN), Perikatan Nasional (PN), PH and Muda, the other political parties that may contest in the state election is Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia (Putra), Party Bangsa Malaysia (PMB) and Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang).