Johor bahru: Former Deputy Speaker of the Johor State Assembly Datuk Samsolbari Jamali made history by retaining the Semarang seat for a sixth consecutive term in the 16th Johor state election. The victory extends the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate's tenure as the elected representative for Semarang, capping more than three decades of service in politics and the Johor state administration.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, the 65-year-old Ayer Hitam UMNO division chief secured 17,374 votes to defeat Pakatan Harapan (PH-Amanah) candidate Ramli Abd Hamid, who obtained 2,205 votes, and Perikatan Nasional (PN-Bersatu) candidate Muhammad Syafiq Abdul Aziz, who garnered 2,695 votes. Samsolbari won with a commanding majority of 14,679 votes, a significant improvement over the 5,846-vote majority he recorded in the 2022 state election.

Samsolbari has represented Semarang since 2004 and has successfully defended the seat in every election since then. During his career in the Johor state administration, he served as chairman of the State Agriculture, Agro-based Industry and Rural Development Committee, in addition to leading the Malaysian Pineapple Industry Board (LPNM).

Following BN's victory in the 2022 Johor state election, Samsolbari was appointed Deputy Speaker of the Johor State Assembly, reflecting his extensive experience in legislative affairs. His latest victory comes as BN secured a renewed mandate to govern Johor after winning 48 of the 56 state seats contested, giving the coalition a two-thirds majority in the State Legislative Assembly.

The result marked an improvement on BN's performance in the 2022 state election, when it won 40 seats. A total of 172 candidates contested the 56 state seats in the election, comprising 56 candidates each from BN and PH, followed by Perikatan Nasional (33), Bersama (15), MUDA (four), Independents (six), and one candidate each from Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) and Parti ASLI.