JOHOR BARU, Aug 20 — Former Johor State Assembly Speaker Suhaizan Kaiat wants to score a convincing win for Pakatan Harapan (PH) in the Pulai parliamentary by-election next month.

Despite his previous six unsuccessful attempts in electoral contests, including for one parliamentary seat, he is optimistic of winning the hearts of Pulai voters through his service in the area, including when he was serving as the Johor State Assembly Speaker from 2018 until early last year.

Suhaizan, who has been Johor Amanah vice-chairman and Pulai Amanah head since 2015, is confident of shouldering the trust and responsibility given him, especially to continue with the legacy of the late Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub, who was the Member of Parliament for Pulai.

"The Pulai seat belongs to PH and we want to retain it with a convincing majority. This is to give support to the Unity Government under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

"Amanah and PH have given me the trust to contest. I understand it is a heavy responsibility because it is about continuing the legacy of the late Salahuddin. Insya-Allah, I am ready to take up this mandate,” he told reporters at the Johor-level cost of living outreach programme involving cashless aid for Form Six and Vocational College diploma students here today.

Salahuddin retained the Pulai seat in the 15th general election (GE15) with a majority of 33,174 votes, defeating Barisan Nasional’s Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed.

Suhaizan said Salahuddin’s advice to his officers to serve the people well would be his motivation to work hard and succeed.

He recalled that Salahuddin, who was Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Minister, had once joked that he would not want to defend the Pulai seat after GE15.

Yesterday, Amanah president Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu announced that Suhaizan would represent PH in the Pulai by-election while Nazri Abdul Rahman would be defending the Simpang Jeram state seat.

The two seats fell vacant following the death of Salahuddin on July 23.

The Election Commission has fixed August 26 for nominations, September 5 for early voting and September 9 for polling for both by-elections. — Bernama