Bersatu and Umno in tit for tat over GE15 in Johor

 

Johor Perikatan Nasional said it was prepared to ditch Umno for the state polls in the next general election.

This was after Johor Umno stressed that it will not yield any seats that it had won in the last general election.

PN is a coalition that comprises Bersatu, PAS, Star, SAPP and Gerakan while Umno heads the BN coalition which includes MCA, MIC and PBRS.

Both are part of the ruling coalition at the federal level but are seeing friction, particularly between Umno and Bersatu.

Johor Bersatu deputy chief Md Nasir Hashim (above) said PN is prepared to contest in all 56 seats in the state without striking a deal with Umno.

"We expect Johor PN to win more than 40 seats from all the seats that will be contested.

"The victory will in part be due to Johor Menteri Besar Hasni Mohammad's inability to lead the state," he said.

Slammed for 'provocation'

Md Nasir also slammed Hasni, who is the Johor Umno chief, for "provocation".

Last week, Hasni maintained that Umno will re-contest in all the state seats it had won in Johor.

The statement appeared aimed at three assemblypersons who had defected from Umno to Bersatu shortly after the 2018 general election.

They are Rasman Ithnain (Sedili), Rosleli Jahari (Johor Lama) and Alwiyah Talib (Endau).

Hasni also maintained that Umno will only use the party's or BN's logo, snubbing efforts to form a grand coalition under the PN banner.

"We in Johor will remain steadfast in facing the upcoming GE15 under the BN symbol. In fact, the seats contested by BN before (in GE14) will continue to be contested by our representatives.

“This includes the seats that we won but where their representatives moved to another party. It is difficult for us to compromise on that," Hasni said. - Mkini