JOHOR BARU: Incumbent Bukit Batu assemblyman Arthur Chiong is set to defend his seat in the upcoming state election, says Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
The PKR vice-president made the announcement, the first candidate announcement for the Johor polls, during the launch of the Bukit Batu PKR election machinery on Saturday (June 13) night.
"PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has agreed for me to announce that Arthur will be defending his Bukit Batu seat.
"He is the first candidate that we have announced in this election so far," said Saifuddin, who is also the party's election committee director.
He added that other Pakatan Harapan candidates, including those contesting PKR-held seats, would be announced later.
Chiong, a first-term assemblyman, is PKR's sole representative in the Johor state assembly.
He won the seat with a razor-thin majority of 137 votes in a four-cornered contest against Barisan Nasional's S. Suppayah (MIC), Perikatan Nasional's Tan Heng Choon (Gerakan) and Parti Warisan's Lee Ming Wen.
On June 1, Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi announced the dissolution of the Johor state legislative assembly, paving the way for the state's 16th election.
Johor last held a state election on March 12, 2022, when Barisan Nasional secured a two-thirds majority after winning 40 of the 56 seats.
Pakatan Harapan won 12 seats, Perikatan Nasional secured three, while Muda won one.
