Pejuang will be running in 42 out of 56 state seats in the Johor polls.
- Candidates will be named two days before nomination day
- Dr Mahathir to be the ‘face’ of campaign
- No person in mind for menteri besar
Pejuang will name its candidates for the Johor election two days before nomination day on Feb 26.
Its president Datuk Seri Mukhriz Mahathir said the party promises to nominate candidates who are clean.
“Pejuang is synonymous with the efforts to combat corruption. Our candidates will undergo a psychometric test conducted by the NGO (non-governmental organisation) Projek Rasuah Busters.
“This is our campaign so that whoever the candidate is, they would be clean, efficient and trustworthy (bersih, cekap, amanah). The list of candidates is being finalised,” he said.
Mukhriz said it was time for Johor to have an administration that is clean and with integrity.
“We will contest the Johor election on our own, under our own banner. There are 56 seats being contested but we will only contest in 42 seats,” he said.
Mukhriz was speaking to the media after launching the party’s election machinery for the state election in Johor Baru.
Also present were deputy president Datuk Marzuki Yahya and Johor Pejuang chief Datuk Dr Sallehudin Md Salleh.
Mukhriz said even though Dr Mahathir is not contesting in the election, the party will use his picture in the posters during the campaign.
“I figure the Election Commission allows the pictures of party leaders to be used in posters during the campaign.
“Tun (Dr Mahathir) is still beloved by the people of Johor. So, I do not feel it is wrong for his image to be used in posters in order to convince the voters,” he said.
He said the party does not have a candidate for the post of menteri besar yet as it is focusing first on ensuring wins for its candidates.
“There is no point in naming the mentri besar candidate if the person can’t win. We don’t want to repeat the mistakes of other parties.
“At present, there are no mentri besar candidates yet. We want to focus on all of our candidates’ victories,” he said.
Mukhriz, who is also the Jerlun MP, said Pejuang would be contesting on its own and would not be part of the Opposition’s big tent.
“I am not convinced with the big tent concept that comes from a political group that has already made a pact with the current government based on the memorandum of understanding (MoU).
“We cannot be seen together with the current government. I have stated before many times, where there are kleptocrats, we will not be there.
“For that reason, it will be better for Pejuang to contest on our own,” said Mukhriz.
Besides Pejuang, Barisan Nasional (BN), Perikatan Nasional (PN), Pakatan Harapan (PH) and the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda), the other political parties that have expressed their intention to contest in the state election is Parti Warisan (Warisan), Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) and Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia (Putra).
The EC has set March 12 as polling day for the Johor state election. Nomination day is set for February 26, with early voting on March 8.