Independent candidate, Saifuddin and Amirudin add colour to Puteri Wangsa nomination day

JOHOR BAHRU – Pakatan Harapan (PH) secretary-general Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) vice-president Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari accompanied former education minister Dr Maszlee Malik to the nomination centre at SMK Taman Dato Onn, Tebrau this morning for the Johor State Election.

Dressed in a light blue baju Melayu, Maszlee is contesting the Puteri Wangsa state seat under the PH banner.

The PH entourage began its march to the nomination centre at about 8.14am, accompanied by supporters waving PH flags.

The atmosphere briefly turned lively when supporters of the Muda, who were marching alongside the PH crowd, loudly chanted “Bebas Rasuah” (Free from Corruption) and “Bebas Sampah” (Free from Rubbish) as they escorted their candidate, Rashifa Aljunied.

The chants prompted PH supporters to respond with cheers of their own.

Moments later, chants of “Maju Johor” rang out as Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Teow Chia Ling, a first-time election candidate, arrived at the nomination centre accompanied by MCA vice-president Datuk Tan Teik Cheng and hundreds of supporters.

Meanwhile, 49-year-old independent candidate Wang Wee Szong arrived at the nomination centre at about 8.50am to contest the seat.

Dressed in a white shirt, Wang was accompanied by two supporters as he submitted his nomination papers.

Parti Bersama Malaysia (Bersama) candidate Nicholas Paul Vincent also filed his nomination papers, accompanied by two supporters.

For the record, Puteri Wangsa was the only seat won by Muda in the 2022 Johor state election, when Amira Aisya Abd Aziz defeated five other candidates with a 7,114-vote majority over Barisan Nasional’s Ng Yew Aik.

With an independent candidate joining the fray alongside contenders from the major political parties, Puteri Wangsa is once again expected to be one of the fiercest and most closely watched contests in the Johor state election.