KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 13 — The candidate for the unity government in the Mahkota state by-election in Johor will be from Barisan Nasional (BN), said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

Ahmad Zahid, who is also the BN chairman, said it is customary for the party that holds the state or parliamentary seat involved to contest it again.

He said further discussions and details will be addressed in the Umno Political Bureau and Supreme Council, after which the decision will be brought to the Unity Government Secretariat Council.

"We know that the Mahkota state seat is in a relatively promising area for us (BN) to continue winning, and of course, we want coordination with all parties in the unity government.

"Usually, the understanding serving as the formula for the unity government is that the seat held by any party should be contested again by that party. Therefore, I don’t want statements from leaders (of other parties), big or small, claiming any seats,” he said at a press conference here today.

He said this after attending the National Entrepreneur and Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises Development Council Secretariat Meeting at the SME Corp Malaysia headquarters.

Also present were Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Minister Datuk Ewon Benedick and his deputy, Datuk R. Ramanan, SME Corp Malaysia chief executive officer Rizal Nainy, and Chief Statistician of the Department of Statistics Malaysia Datuk Seri Mohd Uzir Mahidin.

Earlier today, the Election Commission set September 28 as the polling day for the Mahkota by-election, with nomination day and early voting scheduled for September 14 and 24, respectively.

The Mahkota seat became vacant following the death of its assemblyman, Datuk Sharifah Azizah Syed Zain, 63, on August 2 at Hospital Enche’ Besar Hajjah Khalsom in Kluang.

In the Johor state election in March 2022, Sharifah Azizah, who was representing BN, won the seat with a majority of 5,166 votes. — Bernama