“I will discuss this with Dr Mahathir in the near future because their retirement is coming up.

“A decision will be made soon,” Home Minister Muhyiddin Yassin, who is also the PPBM chairman, said today.

IGP Mohamad Fuzi Harun is slated to retire on his birthday this May. His deputy, Noor Rashid Ibrahim, will retire on March 17.

On another matter, Muhyiddin, speaking at a press conference here, said his party was ready to battle it out in the March 2 Semenyih by-election.

He said he was unsure if PAS and Umno’s alliance will break up the Malay vote in Semenyih and questioned if the support from both parties was “still strong”.

“I do not know if all PAS members agree with this collaboration,” he added. “Whatever it is, we will see how.”

Muhyiddin also countered allegations that the Pakatan Harapan government does not fight for Malay rights.

He said the by-election will be an “opportunity” to set the record straight with the public on this matter.

“I have already clarified some issues that have been brought up and twisted by the opposition, like the issue of Malays and Islam,” Muhyiddin added.

PH leaders on the campaign trail will be speaking on the cost of living and what the federal government has done so far to keep prices down.

PH’s candidate will be announced on Feb 14 by Muhyiddin or Mahathir.

So far, Umno, Gerakan and PSM have said they will contest. PAS is staying out of this race.

The Cameron Highlands by-election earlier this month saw a comfortable win for Barisan Nasional (BN). Its candidate, Ramli Md Nor, won by a 3,238-vote majority against PH candidate M Manogaran from DAP.

In the general election last year, PPBM’s Bakhtiar Mohd Nor obtained 23,428 votes to defeat BN’s Johan Abd Aziz, who received 14,464 votes, in the Semenyih state seat.

The by-election was called after Bakhtiar died from a heart attack.