Pejuang president Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir during the announcement of candidates for the Johor state election in Muar, Johor, February 24, 2022. — Bernama pic
MUAR, Feb 24 — Sri Gading Member of Parliament Datuk Sharuddin Md Salleh is among 42 candidates who will be fielded by Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang) in the Johor state election on March 12.
Sharuddin, who is also Johor Pejuang chief, will contest in the Machap seat, which is expected to see a five-cornered fight.
When announcing Pejuang’s candidate list here today, party president Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir said only two of the 42 candidates have contested in elections before.
The other candidate with electoral contest experience is Zaini Abu Bakar, who will be standing in the Kota Iskandar seat. Zaini was elected the Nusajaya state assemblyman in 2013.
Among those making their debut in elections is Nornekman Osman, son of former Johor mentri besar Datuk Osman Sapian, who died on December 21 last year.
He will stand in Kempas, a seat once held by his late father.
At a press conference after the announcement, Mukhriz said 54 per cent of Pejuang’s candidates are under 50 years old, with the youngest at 26, while there are four women candidates.
“They come from various backgrounds, some with a political background but not many.
“Most of them joined Pejuang as their first political party and some came from other parties. There are also many from the private sector, non-governmental organisations and academic sector,” he added.
Pejuang was registered on July 8, 2021 and the Johor state election will mark its debut in elections.
Saturday is nomination day for the Johor polls, with early voting fixed for March 8 and polling on March 12. — Bernama