Johor polls: Latiff poised to become Bersatu frontrunner for MB post?

KUALA LUMPUR – If speculations are to be believed, special functions minister Datuk Abdul Latiff Ahmad appears to be among those being considered by Bersatu as a Johor menteri besar candidate.

While a final decision on candidates has yet to be made, sources told The Vibes that Latiff has been proposed as one of his party’s choices for the state’s top post should it secure a victory in next month’s election. 

The Mersing MP is tipped to contest in the Tenggaroh state seat – a Barisan Nasional (BN) stronghold – which is one of the two seats under his parliamentary constituency. 

Presently, Tenggaroh is held by two-term assemblyman and MIC Youth chief Raven Kumar Krishnasamyi. 

Perikatan Nasional (PN), the coalition led by Bersatu, will be announcing its list of candidates for the Johor polls tomorrow, following talks on seat distribution with component parties PAS and Gerakan. 

However, Latiff has kept mum when asked about the talks.

When contacted, several Bersatu leaders – including party vice-president Datuk Mohd Rafiq Naizamohideen, youth chief Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal, and supreme council member Datuk Shabudin Yahaya – said they are in the dark over the party’s choice of candidates for the menteri besar position. 

Wan Fayhsal said he is unsure, as he is not involved in discussions over the Johor polls, while the rest said it is a question best answered by party president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin or secretary-general Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin. 

It will not come as a major surprise if Latiff’s candidacy is confirmed, seeing that he has been Mersing MP for five terms since 1999. 

Prior to that, he was a one-term assemblyman for the Endau state seat, the other constituency under Mersing. 

However, it is worth noting that Latiff won all his contests while he was in Umno, including the last general election in 2018. 

He quit the party in December that year after BN lost federal power, joining Bersatu, which was then aligned to the ruling Pakatan Harapan. Bersatu defected from the coalition in February 2020 to form PN. 

Muhyiddin’s decision to not defend his Gambir state seat in Johor has motivated the party to look at alternative options for the menteri besar position, in particular someone with “stature” or some national standing.  

Latiff’s experience as a multi-term Mersing MP and a minister in the Prime Minister’s Department may give him an edge over other potential candidates in Johor if he chooses to run in the state election and subsequently wins.

Bersatu currently lacks prominent figures in the state, particularly following the recent departures of incumbent Larkin assemblyman Datuk Mohd Izhar Ahmad and Puteri Wangsa rep Mazlan Bujang. 

This is in stark contrast to BN and PH, with the two boasting a number of popular leaders who are set to vie for a place in the Johor assembly.

BN lynchpin Umno is set to name incumbent menteri besar Datuk Hasni Mohammad as its choice for the top post, while several names have been mentioned as potential candidates for PH. 

They include PKR’s Simpang Renggam MP Maszlee Malik, Muda’s Muar MP Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, Amanah’s Simpang Jeram incumbent, and Pulai MP Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub, as well as state opposition leader Aminolhuda Hassan. 

Johor will head to the polls on March 12, with nominations set for February 26. This means the parties will have two weeks to campaign.  

The state election was called after Hasni sought an audience with Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar to dissolve the assembly, citing instability with his Umno-led government holding a razor-thin majority of only one seat to PH. 

This is following the death of Bersatu’s Kempas assemblyman Datuk Osman Sapian on December 21. – The Vibes, February 10, 2022