KUALA LUMPUR – Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said his party plans to field candidates for 42 seats from the 56 available for the upcoming Johor election.
According to The Malaysian Insight, Mohamad said the party is aiming for 42 seats despite its leadership having yet to begin negotiating with its component parties in the Barisan Nasional coalition.
“We are looking at a minimum 42 for Umno alone. 42 out of 56,” he was quoted saying to reporters outside the KL High Court.
The Rantau assemblyman was present to support embattled Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
Zahid was ordered by the Kuala Lumpur High Court to enter his defence against all 47 charges of misappropriation of funds from Yayasan Akalbudi.
Despite making such an announcement, Umno’s election director said the state polls would not be a walkover for the party due to the emergence of new voters between 18 to 21 years old.
“We definitely have to prepare with a new focus for Johor, which has more than 700,000 new voters.
“Everyone has to work hard, including Umno. It won’t be a walk in the park for Umno. We don’t know what we are going into,” he was quoted as saying.
As of January 14, the electoral numbers show that more than 5.7 million people aged 18 and above nationwide have been automatically registered to vote, with around 700,000 of them eligible to vote in Johor.
Mohamad stressed that Umno should not count on BN’s convincing victory in Melaka in its preparation for the Johor polls.
“Every election is different. We have to work hard, especially now with new voters registered automatically by the Election Commission.
“We don’t know them; we can’t know their inclinations, who they will support and whether they will all come out to vote,” he added.
On Saturday, Johor Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar assented to dissolve the state assembly.
As announced via a post on the ruler’s official Facebook page, the dissolution came after an audience with Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Hasni Mohammad at Istana Bukit Serene.
The death of Bersatu’s Kempas assemblyman Datuk Osman Sapian on December 21 had left the Perikatan Nasional-led state administration with a razor-thin majority of only one seat, with 28 held against Pakatan Harapan’s 27. – The Vibes, January 24, 2022
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