Hasni Mohammad to remain as Johor MB if BN wins

 

JOHOR POLLS | Caretaker Johor Menteri Besar Hasni Mohammad remains endorsed as BN’s menteri besar candidate in the forthcoming Johor state election, according to a news report.

BN president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi is reported as saying that Hasni’s (above) name would be submitted to Johor ruler Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar if BN wins the election.

He said this during a BN event at Ayer Hitam, Johor, last night.

Zahid later called on BN members to not take the election lightly.

“In GE14, we lost out as our social media teams were weak.

"This time around, we need everyone to play their part, including our own cyber-troopers,” Zahid is quoted as saying by The Star.

In a separate report, BN election director Mohamad Hasan said that the coalition was eyeing 13 out of 15 seats in the central region of Johor.

This is an additional six seats to the seven out of 15 seats BN had previously won in the 14th general election, namely Sri Medan, Semarang, Parit Raja, Machap, Layang-Layang, Kahang and Renggit.

"We lost eight seats in GE14. For this election, we have set a key performance index (KPI) of winning 13 out of the 15 seats.

"We need to retain the seven seats and win six more state seats in the region,” Mohamad, the Umno deputy president, was reported as saying by The Star.

Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan

He went on to remind parties under the BN coalition to not fight over seat allocations, as it may “sabotage” the parties.

"Any issues on candidates should be put by the side. If there is any disagreement, leave it aside for now.

"Do not let small problems like these cause us to fight among ourselves and lose the election. Do not sabotage a party just because of not being selected to contest in the election.

"In GE14, we lost the election not because our enemies were strong, but because of small things like these," Mohamad said.

Also present at the event were MCA president Wee Ka Siong, MIC vice-president M Asojan and Hasni.

First polls for 18-year-olds to vote

The 56-seat Johor State Legislative Assembly was dissolved on Jan 22 after incumbent Johor Menteri Besar Hasni obtained the consent of the ruler.

The state government became fragile after the death of Kempas assemblyperson Osman Sapian, which left Hasni with just a single majority in the state assembly.

The forthcoming state election would also be the first to see 18-year-olds casting their ballots, following the implementation of Undi 18.

Nomination day has been fixed for Feb 26, leading to a 14-day campaign period and voting on March 12.

The election, the fourth amid the Covid-19 pandemic, comes as the nation witnessed a sharp spike in positive cases due to the Omicron variant. - Mkini