'We'll support any party that wins Johor polls' - PBM

 

JOHOR POLLS | Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) election candidates are prepared to back any party or coalition that emerges victorious in the Johor polls, according to the party senior vice-president Steven Choong.

He is one of four PBM candidates contesting in the Johor polls. He is contesting in Puteri Wangsa, a state seat under the Tebrau parliamentary constituency where he is the MP.

Choong, along with PBM candidates - Muhammad Hanis Asmui Md Salleh (Maharani), Mohd Azmi Ali (Tiram), and Muhammad Saiful Bahari Sahari (Stulang), spoke to the press at a joint-interview session organised by the Department of Information as part of its voter education initiative.

However, Choong (above) said PBM's backing for any winner does not entail joining their coalition.

"We will not join any component parties but our party's stand is to support the government of the day.

"It doesn't matter what government will be formed.

"Even if we win all, we only have four seats so we will support the government that will be formed, we don't know what government," said Choong.

He added if the winner accepts PBM to be part of the new state government, PBM will accept the offer.

"We will express our intention of support, so to accept or otherwise will be up to the new government," he said.

Leaving PKR

Ahead of the Johor polls, PBM has declared the party as BN-friendly and actively recruited former PKR members who were unable to fit in Bersatu.

Choong, together with PBM president Larry Sng, was sacked from PKR last year after they backed the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government.

Since his departure, Choong said he explained his move to voters in Tebrau and Puteri Wangsa, including to those who were sceptical of party-hopping politicians.

"The first six months, people don't know how to adjust to me. But after six months, gradually they see I am still the same, I haven't changed at all, the way I speak to them is still the same.

"So they came to talk to me, they wanted to know the real reason why I made the move and so I explained to them. After that they know it," he said.

Choong said he had informed the people of an impending split in Harapan, and that developments leading up to the Johor polls had proven his prediction.

"Some of them distrust me but because of the developments in the last few months within PH, which they themselves couldn't get along with each other, now PH and PKR standing on a different logo, people began to see.

"I said 'you leave or not it's up to you but to me, I see Harapan is breaking up.’

"So in the last two to three months, more have come back to support me because what I told them is materialising," he said.

Choong stressed that while each party has its own group of "diehard supporters", there are more fence-sitters who could be swayed by current developments.

Within Puteri Wangsa, he said among issues to be tackled include new housing for squatters from several villages in the area, at the same time tackling issues of river pollution.

PBM has been linked to Bersatu supreme council member Zuraida Kamaruddin who was said to have fallen out of favour in the party.

However, Zuraida has maintained that she is staying put in Bersatu. PBM secretary-general Hizwan Ahmad is a long-time aide of Zuraida. - Mkini