Aminolhuda said allowing all parties to contest the seats they were eyeing would avoid the confusion surrounding unity government arrangements, seen at the federal level.

The Sri Gading MP said the approach would mirror Sabah’s, where parties aligned under the federal unity government contested against one another in last November’s state election.

“There’s nothing wrong with everyone contesting and letting the people decide. There’ll be no more confusion.

“Let it be a free-for-all. That would be fairer,” he told FMT at Parliament.

Aminolhuda said the last state election in 2022 was held while Covid-19 remained a public concern and this affected voter turnout.

He said participation in the 15th general election in November 2022 reached 70% in Johor, compared with just 50% during the state election held eight months earlier.

In October last year, Johor Amanah deputy chairman Dzulkefly Ahmad said PH was prepared to face three-cornered contests in the next state election, without relying on seat negotiations with BN.

Dzulkefly said electoral cooperation between PH and BN appeared inconsistent and confusing to voters, especially as the Johor government is led by BN without PH’s formal participation.

In the 2022 state election, BN won 40 of the 56 seats, while PH secured 12. Perikatan Nasional won three seats, and Muda one.

Johor menteri besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi previously said the state election would be held by April 2027 at the latest, in line with the current administration’s term.

Aminolhuda also said PH’s exclusion from the Johor administration was evident at the grassroots level, with no PH representatives appointed as councillors or village heads.

However, he said PH continued to support Johor’s development by channelling proposals directly to the federal government. He cited a suggestion to widen the highway from Tangkak to Skudai to ease traffic congestion and improve the lives of the residents.