A TOTAL 32 of the 56 State Legislative Assembly (DUN) seats contested in the 16th Johor State Election (PRN) will see a three-cornered contest involving Barisan Nasional (BN), Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Perikatan Nasional (PN).
BN and PH are each fielding candidates in all 56 DUN seats, while PN is distributing the 32 seats it is contesting between Bersatu, PAS and the Malaysian Indian People's Party (MIPP).
Based on the full list of candidates announced separately by PN components last night, Bersatu will contest in 16 seats, while PAS will contest in 11 seats and MIPP in five seats.
The 16 seats that will see competition between BN, PH and BERSATU are Kemelah, Bukit Kepong, Bukit Pasir, Serom, Bukit Naning, Semarang, Parit Raja, Senggarang, Rengit, Layang-Layang, Tenggaroh, Panti, Sedili, Johor Lama, Penawar and Stulang.
Meanwhile, the 11 seats contested by BN, PH and PAS are Jementah, Tenang, Simpang Jeram, Maharani, Sungai Balang, Semerah, Sri Medan, Kahang, Endau, Pasir Raja and Tiram, reported Harian Metro.
The other five seats that will witness a three-cornered contest between BN, PH and MIPP are Pemanis, Paloh, Permas, Kota Iskandar and Bukit Permai.
The clash of the three major parties will see several 'hot seats' being the focus of this state election, including Puteri Wangsa, Endau, Machap and Bukit Kepong.
The Bukit Kepong state seat, which sees former Education Minister Dr Maszlee Malik, representing (PH-Bersatu) so far, will face BN and PN candidates in a three-cornered contest.
Meanwhile, the Endau state seat also stole the spotlight when the former incumbent of the seat, Alwiyah Talib, returned to contest on the Umno ticket after leaving Bersatu earlier this month.
The Machap state seat, which is held by Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi, who is also Johor BN Chairman, is also in the spotlight when he defends the seat.
In addition, the Bukit Kepong state seat, which is held by Johor Bersatu Chief Datuk Dr Sahruddin Jamal, who is also a former Menteri Besar of Johor, will be in the spotlight, reported HM.
Another seat that is also expected to attract attention is the Skudai state seat, which has so far seen BN, PH, and PN contesting, in addition to the Malaysian Socialist Party (PSM), which is fielding a single candidate in this state election.
This state election will also see several seats contested by more than four parties, excluding independent candidates, after newcomers Bersama confirmed that it would contest in 15 state seats.
The seats that Bersama will contest are the Bukit Naning, Mahkota, Tiram, Puteri Wangsa, Johor Jaya, Permas, Larkin, Stulang, Perling, Kempas, Skudai, Kota Iskandar, Bukit Permai, Bukit Batu and Senai constituencies.
Of these, seven seats are currently held by Umno, five by DAP, one by Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) and the other by Muda.
All the names of the Bersama candidates will be announced at Kampung Melayu Majidee tonight.
The Johor state assembly was dissolved effective June 1 after receiving the consent of the Regent of Johor, Tunku Mahkota Ismail.
In the 2022 Johor state election, BN formed the state government after winning 40 of the 56 state constituencies, while PH obtained 12 seats, PN three seats and Muda one seat.
Nomination day is set for tomorrow, followed by early voting on July 7, while polling day is on July 11. – June 26, 2026
