Bersama candidates include JB MP's ex-officers; Rafizi aims for a 'miracle'

Parti Bersama Malaysia unveiled the party’s list of 15 candidates for the 16th Johor election tonight - consisting of first-timers who responded to an online application call, as well as at least three former PKR members.

More than 200 party supporters from Johor and other states gathered in Johor Bahru for the unveiling event, which comes just 40 days after its co-leaders Rafizi Ramli and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad went public with their Bersama takeover.

Addressing the crowd, Nik Nazmi recalled his own electoral debut in 2008 as a PKR greenhorn vying for the Seri Setia state seat in Selangor.

He recalled how, despite his inexperience, he was voted in through the people’s desire for political change - a sentiment that Bersama hopes will buoy the party.

Hoping to catch lightning in a bottle twice, Rafizi said that to even have one elected representative from Bersama will be a “miracle” worth working for.

Bersama is placing most of its eggs in one basket - the greater Johor Bahru area - with 13 out of 15 candidates fielded here.

Among those contesting are former diplomat Norsinah Abu and entrepreneur Stanley Tan - both of whom worked for Johor Bahru MP Akmal Nasrullah Nasir prior to joining Bersama.

Akmal is widely seen as Rafizi’s protege, but has yet to make the jump from PKR.

Norsinah and Tan will be contesting in Larkin and Stulang, respectively, the two state seats under the Johor Bahru federal constituency.

Meanwhile, Bersama is fielding Dr Zamil Najwah Arbain in Permas. He had previously contested as a PKR candidate in Larkin during the March 2022 state election.

The party’s youngest candidate is 28-year-old Aidil Riduan Yusof in Bukit Permai.

The full list of Bersama candidates is as follows:

• Bukit Naning – Iskandar Alias

• Mahkota – Abdul Hamid Ali

• Tiram – Dr Harith Fakhrudin Malik

• Puteri Wangsa – Nicholas Paul Vincent

• Johor Jaya – Lau Yi Leong

• Permas – Dr Zamil Najwah Arbain

• Larkin – Norsinah Abu

• Stulang – Stanley Tan

• Perling – Boo Wei Han

• Kempas – Salamah Hafifi Yusnaieny

• Skudai – Eugene Chua

• Kota Iskandar – Sahrudin Omar

• Bukit Permai – Aidil Riduan Yusof

• Bukit Batu – Tamili Gopalakrishnan

• Senai – Tew Chian How

The profiles of each candidate and their asset declaration forms can be found on the Bersama website.

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