JOHOR BARU, May 10 — For the first time in Johor’s history, outgoing mentri besar Datuk Seri Khaled Nordin is scheduled to hold a media conference later this morning to surrender his post to a Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate following his party’s shock defeat in the general election yesterday.
It was learnt that the 59-year-old state Barisan Nasional (BN) chief will officially concede defeat after he lost both the Pasir Gudang federal and Permas state seats to PH challengers last night.
Khaled must also announce his resignation from several key posts that he holds within Johor’s government-linked companies (GLC), paving way for the new administration.
Sources close to the state party said there could also be a surprise announcement on the state BN’s unprecedented defeat.
“We can only confirm that there will a media conference by the state’s BN leader,” said the sources.
This is the first time that BN and its lynchpin Umno have lost Johor, the spiritual birthplace of the Malay nationalist party in 1946.
Khaled, who is a one-term MB, had announced last week that he was BN’s choice to return to the post.
PH yesterday seized the state by taking 36 out of the state’s 56 seats.
For the Pasir Gudang parliament seat, Khaled, who was BN’s top candidate, garnered 36,889 votes. However, the heavyweight lost to PKR’s Hassan Abdul Karim who managed 61,615 with a whopping majority of 24,726.
PAS’ Ab Aziz Abdullah garnered only 6,278 votes in the three-cornered contest for Pasir Gudang.
On Khaled’s Permas state seat, he managed 20,047 votes, but was beaten by Datuk Seri Che Zakaria Mohd Salleh with 28,793 votes. PAS’s Ab Aziz only garnered 4,181 votes.
