JOHOR BAHRU – A Johor State Executive Councillor (exco) has been dropped as a Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate for the 16th Johor state election, while another exco has been reassigned to a new state constituency following BN's candidate announcement on Wednesday.
Former Johor Women, Family and Community Development Committee chairman Khairin-Nisa Ismail @ Md On, who is also the incumbent for the Serom state seat, was not listed as a candidate for this election.
Instead, Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi announced newcomer Nadhirah Afiqah Abdull Rahim as BN's candidate for the Serom state seat during the BN Candidate Announcement Ceremony for the 16th Johor state election.
In the same development, another state exco member, K Raven Kumar, who previously represented the Tenggaroh state seat, has been moved to contest the Kemelah state seat.
The Tenggaroh seat vacated by Raven Kumar will be contested by Mohd Youzaimi Yusof, who previously ran in the Endau state seat during the 2022 Johor state election.
Of the state's 11 executive councillors, the remaining nine, including the Menteri Besar, will defend their respective seats.
Onn Hafiz will contest the Machap state seat, while several other exco members have been retained in their current constituencies, including Mohd Fared Mohd Khalid (Semerah), Ling Tian Soon (Yong Peng), Lee Ting Han (Paloh), Aznan Tamin (Tanjung Surat), Mohd Jafni Md Shukor (Bukit Permai) and Mohd Hairi Mad Shah (Larkin).
The announcement is seen as part of BN Johor's strategy to introduce a mix of new faces while retaining most of its existing leadership ahead of the 16th Johor state election.