God willing, Harapan will bury Umno second time in Johor - Aminolhuda

 

Johor Pakatan Harapan chief Aminolhuda Hassan is not holding back his punches after BN said it would contest all 56 state seats in the next Johor polls.

Speaking at the Harapan national convention in Johor Bahru, he told coalition members it was clear Harapan and BN could no longer work together, and that the latter must be defeated.

"Johor is where our 'friend' (Umno) was born. There was a time when we figuratively buried them here, their birthplace.

"God willing, in this coming election, we will bury them for a second time," he said to loud cheers from delegates.

Harapan had ousted BN from power in Johor during the 2018 general election.

However, BN returned to the helm in 2020 after Bersatu left Harapan.

The state held a snap election in 2022, which saw BN winning a supermajority thanks to low turnout, benefiting it in multicornered fights.

However, these gains were reversed in the 2022 general election, with BN winning just nine out of 25 Parliament seats in Johor.

Redelineation reluctance

Aminolhuda claimed that BN was still traumatised from its 2018 defeat - which he purports is why it has yet to carry out a redelineation exercise in the state.

He claimed this is because seven mostly urban state constituencies have more than 100,000 voters, a majority of whom are Harapan supporters.

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Earlier at the convention, Negeri Sembilan Harapan chief Aminuddin Harun - who is also the menteri besar - said the betrayal the coalition suffered in the state should serve as a lesson when preparing for polls in Malacca, Johor, and Negeri Sembilan.

He said Harapan must also set aside its internal differences and mobilise the coalition's machinery to ensure victory at the polls.

Aminuddin is a close ally of Rafizi Ramli and Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, who are widely speculated to reveal a movement against Harapan lynchpin PKR this afternoon. - Mkini