JOHOR BARU, March 23 ― DAP’s Damansara Utama state assemblywoman Yeo Bee Yin will contest for Bakri parliamentary seat in the coming 14th general election (GE14) and the announcement is expected to be made in Muar tomorrow, said a state Pakatan Harapan (PH) source.

At the same event, the party is set to announce DAP’s organising secretary Won Yi Hao as the Bentayan state seat candidate. Currently the seat is helmed by Chua Wee Beng.

Bentayan is a state seat under the Bakri constituency.

The party insider said Yeo’s highly-expected candidacy for the northern Johor seat has been agreed by DAP and endorsed by the PH leadership.

"It is confirmed that (Yeo) Bee Yin will be taking over from the current MP Er Teck Hwa. DAP’s secretary-general Lim Guan Eng is expected to officially announce her (Yeo’s) nomination at the Bakri Bentayan community centre tomorrow,” he said.

The announcement will take place during a PH forum with several of the Opposition coalition leaders attending.

The DAP leaders scheduled to attend the forum are parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang, Lim Guan Eng, state chief Liew Chin Tong and Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua.

PH leaders scehduled to attend are Parti Amanah Negara’s (Amanah) Salahuddin Ayub and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia’s (PPBM) Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman.

Johor DAP publicity secretary Wong Shu Qi when contacted confirmed that there will candidates announcement made at "Forum Harapan Bakri-Muar at the Bakri Bentayan community centre tomorrow but declined to confirm the names.

Yeo, made national news after she was made the youngest member of the Selangor State Legislative Assembly in 2013.

The 34-year-old from Segamat, is currently DAP’s national assistant publicity secretary, PH Youth vice-chairman and Political Education Director of DAP Wanita Selangor’s political education director.

She is an engineer by profession, with a first-class honours degree from University Technology Petronas, and a master’s degree (with Commendation) from the University of Cambridge.

She was a recipient of the prestigious Gates Cambridge Scholarship for her post-graduate studies.

Yesterday, Malay Mail reported that incumbent Bakri MP Er Teck Hwa announced that he will not defend his seat to make way for a more suitable candidate.

Er, who is considered to have strong grassroots following, has served two terms in Bakri, having been elected in both 2008 and 2013.

Er won the Bakri parliamentary seat by 5,067 votes in the previous general election against MCA’s Lee Ching Yong. Previously in 2008 he also won the seat by a 722 majority against MCA’s Tay Puay Chuan.

The seat has traditionally been a Barisan Nasional (BN) stronghold under MCA and was helmed by the party’s former federal minister Datuk Chua Jui Meng from 1986 to 2008.

From the 2013 electoral data, Bakri has 67,202 registered voters and is a Chinese-majority seat. Chinese voters comprise 53 per cent, Malay (44), Indian (2), and others (1).

Er’s announcement comes following speculation that DAP was set to field Yeo for the Bakri parliamentary seat in GE14.