JOHOR BARU, Sept 2 — The Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) mandate in the Pulai parliamentary and the Simpang Jeram state seats needs to be maintained, so that the people in the two constituencies will continue to enjoy the best services, in addition to receiving the overflow of development and economy.

Datuk Seri Bung Moktar Radin, who is Sabah Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman and a member of the UMNO Supreme Council, said that, in that regard, the people need to vote for the PH candidate and not be swayed by the promises offered by the opposition.

He said that PH and BN need to ensure that their candidates receive support from the people, so that the people continue to receive good services from the federal and state governments.

"In Johor, even if the opposition wins, they will not play any role because the Johor government is led by BN,” he told Bernama, after meeting with residents of the Sri Indah Taman Tampoi flats, here, today.

He also expressed hope that the cooperation and compatibility of the PH-BN machinery would continue to be strengthened, to convince the voters and ensure the victory of the PH candidates in both constituencies.

He added that BN machinery, including from Sabah, also came to help campaign activities in the Pulai and Simpang Jeram by-elections.

The Pulai parliamentary by-election will see Suhaizan Kaiat, from PH, battle it out against Zulkifli Jaafar from Perikatan Nasional (PN), and the independent candidate Samsudin Fauzi.

As for Simpang Jeram, PH candidate Nazri Abdul Rahman, will face Dr Mazri Yahya from PN, and independent candidate S. Jeganathan.

The by-elections are being called due to the unexpected vacancy of the seats following the death of the incumbent, Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub, who was also the Minister of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living, on July 23.

The Election Commission (EC) set the by-elections for the two seats to be held simultaneously, with early voting on Sept 5 and polling day on Sept 9. -- Bernama