JOHOR BARU: It’s a four-cornered fight in Johor Baru where incumbent MP Akmal Nasrullah Mohd Nasir from Pakatan Harapan (PKR) will be defending the seat from Barisan Nasional, Perikatan Nasional, and Gerakan Tanah Air in the 15th General Election (GE15).
Akmal Nasir will be up against Johan Arifin Mohd Ropi from BN-Umno, PN-Bersatu Mohd Mohtaj Yacob, and GTA-Pejuang Mohd Akhiri Mahmood.
The matter was announced by Johor Baru nomination centre assistant managing officer Ungku Mohd Zaffrin Ungku Mohd Zaman after the nomination form submission was closed at 10am at the JKR Johor Baru Hall, here.
Meanwhile, Mohd Mohtaj, 56, said that Perikatan had long made preparations to woo voters in the parliamentary seat with the help of experienced leaders and strong support from the grassroots.
"Johor Baru is a bit unique as it is a city that still has parts that can be developed, so we will focus on this and offer what is best for the people.
"I would personally fight for the economy and education for the future generations in the city," he said, adding that Johor still had a lot of room to grow.
As for Johan Arifin, 42, he said that he aimed to restore the close communication between the people and the government that Barisan had introduced before.
"After we lost in the previous election, the people have also lost their means of communicating their issues; some voices have gone unheard regardless if they are Chinese, Malay, or Indian.
"Barisan has long established good communication and support between the community and the multicultural races that we have, and I aim to bring that back so that we can not only develop the state but also develop our society," he said.
Meanwhile, Akmal Nasir, 36, said that he planned to organise more awareness campaigns on fighting corruption and creating job opportunities for the youth in the city.
"We wanted to ensure that the coming developments are in line with our ageing society and, at the same time, support our youth and the livelihood of the people in general," he said.
As for Mohd Akhiri, 50, he said that he hoped that all candidates would give a fair and clean fight and wished that the best party won.
"We do not want to highlight what each party lacks because I believe that each and every candidate has something to offer so let the people be the one to decide who they want to represent them," he said.
During the previous GE14, Akmal Nasir won against Umno veteran Tan Sri Shahrir Ab Samad of Barisan Nasional.
Akmal Nasir received 50,052 votes to Shahrir's 30,270 votes, a majority of 19,782 votes.
