MELAKA: Perikatan Nasional is expected to announce its chief minister candidate by today, says Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin.

       Its secretary-general said that discussions were on-going among component parties regarding this matter.

       He said he had personally discussed the matter with the coalition chairman and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin to give his personal views on the matter.

       “We will discuss it and announce it,” he told reporters here yesterday.

       Both Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan had already announced their chief minister candidates should they win the election.

       Muhyiddin previously said the coalition’s chief minister-designate would come from Bersatu.

       On the possibility of picking a female chief minister candidate, Hamzah said the candidate must first be accepted by the people.

       “Even if its a female candidate, Melaka has once featured a female leader known as Tun Teja, where she once played a role in the development of the state,” he added.

       Tun Teja was the wife of Melaka’s Sultan Mahmud Shah who reigned between1458 and 1511.

       Hamzah also pointed out that Perikatan, too, had several prominent leaders that it could choose as its chief minister candidate.