JOHOR BARU: An internal tussle within Pakatan Harapan over the Puteri Wangsa seat has ended with Amanah ceding the constituency to PKR for the Johor state election.
Johor Amanah chief Aminolhuda Hassan said the party agreed to give up Puteri Wangsa, traditionally regarded as one of Amanah's seats, after several rounds of negotiations.
“The request came from the Prime Minister. It is okay. We stepped aside and gave them the seat. The decision is final.
“PKR is our partner. There is no point holding on to the seat if it leads to prolonged disputes,” he said when contacted yesterday.
Aminolhuda said Amanah placed greater importance on maintaining unity and harmony within Pakatan than contesting a single seat.
Asked about Amanah’s allocation for the state election, he said the party has been given 19 seats, up from the 16 it contested in the 2022 state polls.
“The three additional seats are Benut, Semarang and Rengit. They may not be the most attractive seats, but since Barisan Nasional has said it will contest all 56 seats, Pakatan will do the same.
“What is more important is that we fight and win as a team,” he said.
Aminolhuda added that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who is also Pakatan chairman, is expected to announce the coalition's candidates for the 16th Johor state election in Bukit Gambir, Tangkak, today.
Amanah's decision follows weeks of speculation over the fate of Puteri Wangsa.
The uncertainty intensified after a Johor PKR leader recently declared that the party would contest the seat in the July 11 polls, despite Johor Amanah vice- chairman Dr Zuhan Zain saying the party had already mobilised its election machinery and made preparations to reclaim the constituency.
Puteri Wangsa, located within the Tebrau parliamentary constituency, was loaned to Muda in 2022 when the party was still cooperating with Pakatan.
Muda’s Amira Aisya Abd Aziz went on to win the seat with 22,884 votes, securing a 7,114-vote majority in a six-cornered contest.
There is also growing speculation that former education minister Dr Maszlee Malik of PKR could be fielded in Puteri Wangsa.
Maszlee served as Simpang Renggam MP from 2018 to 2022 before losing the seat to then Johor mentri besar Datuk Seri Hasni Mohammad by 1,821 votes in the 2022 general election.
He also contested the Layang-Layang state seat in the 2022 Johor election but was defeated by Umno’s Abd Mutalip Abd Rahim by a majority of 2,815 votes.
