JOHOR BARU: DAP will field four candidates for the Johor state election, three of whom are fresh faces.
The party's secretary-general Anthony Loke said Lee Wern Yiing, 30, will be contesting the Johor Jaya seat, while Nor Zulaila Abd Ghani, 38, will be contesting the Tiram state seat.
He said that Lee, who is also Johor DAP Youth chief, will be replacing Liow Cai Tung, who has served the constituency since 2013.
"After being the assemblyman for Johor Jaya for three terms, Liow has decided not to contest this time and to instead make way for a new face.
"She has decided to give the seat to Lee, a young leader who been serving Johor Jaya as Liow's special officer since 2018," he said in his speech during the announcement of the two candidates.
Meanwhile, for the Tiram state seat, Loke said that Nor Zulaila, fondly known as Lily, is the best candidate to represent the party.
"This is the first time we are contesting the Malay-majority Tiram seat and we are confident that we have chosen the best candidate.
"We will be fielding Nor Zulaila, who is the private secretary to Deputy Finance Minister (Liew Chin Tong), to contest the seat, and we believe that she is the right person for the task," he said, adding that about 60% of Tiram voters are Malays.
At another event, Loke also announced candidates for the Bukit Permai and Senai state seats.
He said first-time candidate Mohamad Syafwan Ani would contest the Bukit Permai state seat while incumbent Senai assemblyman Wong Bor Yang would defend his seat.
Loke added that the selection of both candidates was based on their experience as well as their close ties with the local community.
"We need candidates who are not only known to the people but who have also spent years on the ground and understand the needs of residents in their respective constituencies," he said.
The dissolution of the Johor state assembly was announced by Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi on June 1 following the consent of Johor Regent Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim.
The Election Commission has set July 11 as polling day, with nomination day on June 27 and early voting on July 7.
