The Johor BN released it candidates’ list this morning.

Among the highlights are that Johor Menteri Besar Abdul Ghani Othman will defend his Serom state seat and Khaled Nordin has been retained for the Pasir Gudang parliamentary constituency.

Puteri Umno chief Noraini Ahmad will contest the Parit Sulong parliamentary seat.

She would be replacing Syed Hood Syed Idrus who has been dropped.

The decision to retain Abdul Ghani and Khaled puts to rest speculations that there could be a swap between the two, allowing for the MB to cross over to the federal government while allowing Khaled to be the new menteri besar.

"The Johor BN list of candidates had been endorsed by BN chairman and Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi and is regarded as a trust," Ghani said while announcing the Johor BN candidates in Johor Baru this morning.

Umno vice president Muhyiddin Yassin, Umno Youth chief Hishammuddin Hussein and Supreme Council member Syed Hamid Albar will also be defending their Parliament seats of Pagoh, Sembrong and Kota Tinggi respectively.

The state Umno Wanita chief Halimah Sadique Mohamad and Umno Youth education bureau chairperson Adham Baba however will be swapping their seats.

Halimah will give her Pasir Raja state seat to Adham and take over his Tenggara Parliament seat.

Adham is also the higher education ministry parliamentary secretary.

Johor BN will be fielding 23 new faces while six candidates switched from state to parliament and vice versa.

Tomorrow potential contestants will officially file their nomination papers at selected Election Commission centres between 9 and 10am. This will kick off the 13-day campaign which will end with polling on March 8.

The full list of BN candidates for Johor is as follows:

Parliament

Segamat - Dr Subramaniam K.V Sathasivam

Sekijang - Baharum Mohamed

Labis - Chua Tee Yong

Pagoh - Muhyiddin Mohd Yassin

Ledang - Hamim Samuri

Bakri - Tay Puay Chuan

Muar - Razali Ibrahim

Parit Sulong - Noraini Ahmad

Ayer Hitam - Dr Wee Ka Siong

Sri Gading - Mohamad Aziz

Batu Pahat - Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi

Simpang Renggam - Liang Teck Meng

Kluang - Hou Kok Chung

Sembrong - Hishammuddin Tun Hussein

Mersing - Dr Abdul Latif Ahmad

Tenggara - Halimah Mohamed Sadique

Kota Tinggi - Syed Hamid Jaafar Albar

Pengerang - Azalina Othman Said

Tebrau - Ling Ban San@Teng Boon Soon

Pasir Gudang - Mohamed Khaled Nordin

Johor Baru - Shahrir Abdul Samad

Pulai - Nur Jazlan Tan Sri Mohamed

Gelang Patah - Tan Ah Heng

Kulai - Ong Ka Ting

Pontian - Ahmad Maslan

Tanjong Piai - Wee Jeck Seng

State

Buloh Kasap - Othman Jais

Jementah - Dr Lee Hong Tee

Pemanis - Lau Chin Hoon

Kemelah - Ayub Rahmat

Tenang - Sulaiman Taha

Bekok - Tan Kok Hong@ Tan Yi

Bukit Serampang - Tahir Taat

Jorak - Dr Shahruddin Md Salleh

Gambir - M. Asojan Muniyandy

Tangkak - Goh Tee Tee

Serom - Abdul Ghani Othman

Bentayan - Lee Ching Yong

Sungai Abong - Kamaruddin Suratman

Bukit Naning - Abdullah @ Md Khalid Md Ali

Maharani - Mohd Ismail Mohd Shah

Sungai Balang - Dr Robia Kosai

Semerah - Ariss Samsuddin

Sri Medan - Ahmad Zahri Jamil

Yong Peng - Wee Ka Siong

Semarang - Samsol Bari Jamali

Parit Yaani - Ng See Tiong

Parit Raja - Abd Aziz Kaprawi

Penggaram - Koh Chai @ Koh Chee Chai

Senggarang - Ja'affar Hashim

Rengit - Ayub Jamil

Machap - Abd Hamid Abd Rahman

Layang-Layang - Onn Mohd Yassin

Mengkibol - Gan Ping Shou @ Gan Ping Sieu

Mahkota - Md Jais Sarday

Paloh - Hoo Seong Chang

Kahang - Vidvananthan Ramadhan

Endau - Zainal Abidin Osman

Tenggaroh - Muru Kasvary Thanaratan

Panti - Baderi Dasuki

Pasir Raja - Dr Adham Baba

Sedili - Rasman Ithnain

Johor Lama - Asiah Md Ariff

Penawar - Hamimah Mansor

Tanjung Surat - Harun Abdullah

Tiram - Maulizan Bujang

Puteri Wangsa - Abdul Halim Suleiman

Johor Jaya - Tan Cher Puk

Permas - Munusamy Mareemuthu

Tanjung Puteri - Adam Sumiru

Stulang - Mok Chek Hou

Pengkalan Rinting - Chia Song Cheng

Kempas - Osman Sapian

Skudai - Teo Eng Tee @ Teo Kok Chee

Nusajaya - Abdul Aziz Sapian

Bukit Permai - Kamaruzaman Ali

Bukit Batu - Cheong Chin Liang

Senai - Chun Yoon Fook

Benut - Hasni Mohammad

Pulai Sebatang - Tee Siew Kiong

Pekan Nanas - Tang Nai Soon

Kukup - Md Othman Yusof