KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 24 ― Tebrau MP Steven Choong will be contesting the Puteri Wangsa seat in next month’s Johor state election, Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) announced today.

Deputy party president Hanizah Mohamed Talha said Choong was selected due to his exemplary track record as Tebrau incumbent.

"As everyone is aware, YB Steven possessed a good track record in Tebrau and he is a well-known leader not just to his constituents but also for the contributions he has made which is why he was chosen to contest in Puteri Wangsa,” she said in a party press conference shown live on Facebook.

Choong is also PBM’s vice president and the party’s Johor chief. He won the Tebrau parliamentary seat in the 2018 general election under PKR.

However, he quit PKR to support Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition last year.

Haniza also announced that PBM will be contesting three other state seats in the March 12 election ― Tiram, Maharani and Stulang.

The Tiram and Puteri Wangsa state seats fall under the Tebrau parliamentary seat. Maharani and Stulang are under the Muar and Johor Bahru parliamentary seats.

Haniza did not disclose the names of PBM’s candidates for Tiram, Maharani and Stulang, saying instead that the party gave due consideration before deciding to fight for those seats.

When asked, she indicated that the party has chosen the people who will contest there and that they have been "long-serving members in their respective constituencies”.

"Secondly, our offered candidates are those with integrity and clean,” she added.

To another question, Hanizah said the party based its decision to field new faces from a relatively new political party as its observations showed that voters were feeling jaded and showing a distaste for candidates from "old parties”.

In Puteri Wangsa, Choong will be going against political newcomer Amira Aisya Abd Aziz who is secretary-general of the fledgling Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda), and MCA whose candidate has yet to be announced.

The Election Commission has set March 12 as polling day with early voting on March 8. Nomination day is set for February 26.

* Editor's note: An earlier version of this article contained an error which has since been rectified.