The announcement, which had been expected, was made by Johor BN chairman Hasni Mohammad at the BN command centre in Tanjung Piai tonight.

MCA president Wee Ka Siong was present.

Jeck Seng, 55, who is MCA’s Tanjung Piai division chief, won the seat in the 2008 and 2013 general elections.

In last year’s general election, he lost the seat to PPBM’s Md Farid Md Rafik by a 524-vote margin.

Jeck Seng was deputy youth and sports minister under the BN administration in 2008.

Hasni said BN decided to maintain the seat for MCA because the national consensus between Umno and PAS was inclusive and pragmatic.

“It is not only concerned about the needs of Malays and Islam, but it is also concerned about the needs of all communities,” he said.

Asked how BN planned to win over the Chinese voters, Wee said the collaboration between Umno and MCA started 62 years ago “and it’s still strong today”.

“We were brothers then, and we are brothers till now,” he said.

Pakatan Harapan has named PPBM’s Tanjung Piai division chief Karmaine Sardini, 66, as its candidate for the by-election.

Gerakan also announced that Wendy Subramaniam, its deputy secretary-general, will be its candidate.

The by-election was triggered by the death Md Farid, a former deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, on Sept 21 due to heart complications.

About 57% of the 53,528 registered voters in the constituency are Malays, 42% Chinese and 1% Indians.