JOHOR BAHRU, June 17 — Johor legislative assembly speaker Datuk Mohd Puad Zarkashi has confirmed that he would not defend his incumbent Rengit seat in the upcoming state election.
He said his decision was made a year ago and was mainly driven by his age.
“I am now 69-year-old. In five years, I will be 74-year-old.
“For me, it is not appropriate at that age to want to contest a state seat again.
“In fact, I conveyed my intention to Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and the party’s Johor state chief Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi about two weeks ago,” he said in a posting on his official Facebook page today.
The incumbent Rengit assemblyman said his confirmation came after there were rumours on social media saying that he would vacate his central Johor constituency.
Puad, who is also an Umno supreme council member, said Onn Hafiz, as the Johor Menteri Besar, should be given the opportunity to lead the younger generation and the state government.
He said the opportunity to contest in the state election should be given to those aged 50 and below.
On his eventual departure as a state representative, Puad said the proposal for a replacement candidate for the Rengit seat has been submitted to Umno’s leadership for consideration.
The former deputy minister pointed out that the replacement candidate must be qualified, morally inclined, committed and understand the direction of the nation and the aspirations of the people.
“I express confidence that the Johor Umno leadership will make appropriate considerations in determining the best candidate to continue serving the people in the Rengit area,” he said.
Meanwhile, Puad said he still has several matters and tasks that need to be completed before nomination day.
He also expressed his appreciation to the residents of Rengit, civil servants, village heads and the Chinese community for their cooperation.
“I express my gratitude to the Yang Dipertuan Agong Tuanku Sultan Ibrahim for approving my appointment as the Johor legislative assembly speaker and Johor Regent Tunku Mahkota Ismail for his advice and guidance,” he said.
Puad was previously the Batu Pahat MP and was Deputy Minister of Education II from 2009 to 2013 during the Datuk Seri Najib Razak administration.
In the 2013 general election, he was defeated by the then Pakatan Rakyat (PR) candidate from PKR Mohd Idris Jusi.
Prior to that, Puad was the political secretary to the previous Johor menteri besar Tan Sri Abdul Ghani Othman.
