Ex-Umno man Puad backs PH’s candidate for Rengit

PETALING JAYA: Former Umno Supreme Council member Puad Zarkashi has endorsed Pakatan Harapan candidate Yazid Bakri for the Rengit seat in the July 11 Johor state election.

Puad, who was the Rengit assemblyman before the dissolution of the Johor state assembly, said he is free to support any candidate since he is no longer affiliated with any political party.

He cited Yazid’s “local boy” credentials as the reason for backing the Amanah candidate.

“I choose Yazid because he is a Rengit native and lives in the constituency. He is also the chairman of a surau in Rengit,” he said in a Facebook post.

Yazid will face Perikatan Nasional’s Syed Mohamad Syed Alwi and Barisan Nasional’s Zaidi Japar in a three-cornered contest for the seat.

Puad won the seat in the 2022 state election with a majority of 1,920 votes in a four-cornered contest against candidates from PN, Pejuang, and PH.

On Tuesday, he urged his former constituents not to vote for BN in the July 11 polls until the Johor government addresses the persistent water supply disruptions in the area and the repeated collapse of a water retention bund, which has led to flooding.

Puad resigned from Umno last week, saying he could no longer remain silent over what he described as Johor Umno’s lack of autonomy in decision-making.