JOHOR POLLS | Johor Umno deputy chief Nur Jazlan Mohamed said he was the one who arranged for former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, who has been convicted of criminal breach of trust, money laundering and abuse of power, to assist in MCA's campaign.
Jazlan (above) said he had done it in the spirit of camaraderie to help MCA's less known Perling candidate as it is a state seat within Pulai, a parliamentary constituency where he served as the MP from 2004 until his defeat in 2018.
"For me, Najib is a force in this state election where people miss the economic achievements and political stability during his administration," Jazlan said in an interview.
Speaking at his office located within the Tan Sri Mohamed Rahmat Complex, named after his late father who was Umno's Pulai MP for three decades, Jazlan said the results of the Johor polls will determine if it was the right move.
"We will see the results later on," he said when asked if it will backfire.
On Sunday, MCA kicked off its campaign for its Perling candidate Nicole Tan Hiang Kee with a walkabout in a food court at Taman Bukit Indah in the suburbs of Johor Bahru, accompanied by Najib.
Najib had posed for photographs and fist-bumped several patrons in the area, while some even greeted him with cheers of 'Bossku'.
The Pekan MP has made many public appearances ahead of the Johor polls, including a visit to the popular annual Johor Chingay procession and to the prestigious Foon Yew High School - the biggest Chinese independent school in the country.
‘Nothing wrong’ with helping MCA
Jazlan defended his move to arrange for Najib's appearance, pointing out that Pakatan Harapan component Amanah was also known to benefit from DAP's machinery.
"So, there is nothing wrong with me wanting to help MCA's candidate by arranging Najib's visit.
"Most importantly, in terms of optics, it's clear Najib remains popular," he said.
Tan is going up against Perikatan Nasional's (PN) Khoo Siaw Lee and Harapan's Liew Chin Tong.
Liew, who is also Johor DAP chairperson, previously said that despite Najib's posturing in the Chinese community to show his popularity, the majority of middle-ground voters are unlikely to accept a leader accused or convicted of grand corruption.
'Court cluster' narrative not working
Jazlan, however, believed that the "court cluster" narrative used by BN's opponents against Najib and other party leaders charged for corruption was unlikely to be effective.
Instead, he said, any backfiring would be on those who harp on the issue.
He also took a swipe at Liew and Iskandar Puteri MP Lim Kit Siang, labelling the two DAP leaders as "gipsy elected representatives" who previously contested in other seats before ending up in their areas.
"In the past, there was this aura from DAP supporters who idolised Lim as their leader.
"From my observations, in the two, three days I went down to Bukit Indah, once a DAP stronghold, many people (voters) said 'enough, we want an elected representative who can serve', not a gipsy such as Lim or Liew," said Jazlan.
He added that PN had also tried to use the "court cluster" narrative but maintained that it was ineffective, pointing out BN's landslide victory in last November's Malacca polls.
"We can see it has backfired because whenever there is a face-to-face event, it appears support for Najib is very high," said Jazlan.
‘Abah’ strategy also ineffective
Likewise, he said PN's strategy of using its chairperson Muhyiddin Yassin as their poster boy in the Johor polls, in the absence of a menteri besar candidate, was also ineffective.
He pointed out that voters had rejected Muhyiddin's "Abah Sayang Melaka" tagline, which has since been changed to "Abah Prihatin".
"We (BN) have Hasni, we don't use any other image, be it Najib or Zahid, we use Hasni's image.
"We have declared (menteri besar candidate) and we don't want the people to be confused," said Jazlan in reference to Johor BN chief Hasni Mohamed who is defending his Benut seat.
Campaigning for the state election kicked off on Feb 26. Johoreans will go to the polls on March 12. - Mkini
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