BN chairman Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi Ahmad does not rule out the possibility of a new face to be fielded as the candidate to represent the unity government in the coming Mahkota state by-election.

The Deputy Prime Minister said the name of the candidate would be announced after the unity government secretariat meeting next week.

“Insya-Allah, the candidate will be a new face,” he told reporters in KualaLumpur, yesterday.

Zahid said the party that would be contesting the seat would be based on the principle of incumbency.

“The primary principle is that the party currently holding the seat will be the one to contest it. This is very much respected by the component parties in the unity government.

“We will adopt a different method this time,” he said.

The by-election would be held on Sept 28 following the death of its incumbent Sharifah Azizah Syed Zain on Aug 2.

The Election Commission has set the nomination day on Sept 14 and early voting is on Sept 24.

In the March 2022 Johor State Election, Sharifah Azizah won the seat with a majority of 5,166 votes.- Bernama