JOHOR BARU, Oct 10 — Former Deputy Dewan Rakyat Speaker Datuk Mohd Rashid Hasnon said he will defend the Batu Pahat parliamentary seat in the 15th general election (GE15).

The 62-year-old Batu Pahat MP hoped to receive the same support back in 2018.

“During my term, I did my best to develop Batu Pahat as it is one of the biggest cities in Johor.

“There may have been shortcomings throughout my tenure as an MP, but I provided the best service to the community here.

“I leave it to the wisdom of the Batu Pahat people to choose their representative for the next five years,” he said when contacted by the media here today.

The Johor Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) treasurer was responding to the dissolution of Parliament earlier today.

Mohd Rashid said the Batu Pahat community would be able to choose a credible candidate who truly represents the people.

In the 14th general election, Mohd Rashid won the Batu Pahat parliamentary constituency under PKR with a majority of 17,894 votes, defeating Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Haliza Abdullah and PAS candidate Datuk Dr Mahfodz Mohamed.

In 2020, Mohd Rashid was made the Dewan Rakyat Deputy Speaker under former prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, after he left PKR for Bersatu.

This afternoon, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob announced the dissolution of Parliament, following weeks of intense speculation, to pave way for GE15 that must be held within 60 days from today.