Johor polls: KJ accuses PH of copying BN's manifesto

 

JOHOR BARU: Khairy Jamaluddin has accused Pakatan Harapan of “copying and pasting” Barisan Nasional’s Johor election manifesto, claiming the coalition merely repackaged Barisan’s proposals after launching its own manifesto a week later.

The former health minister said he had compared both documents and found that many of Pakatan Harapan’s pledges closely resembled those announced earlier by Barisan.

“I read their manifesto side by side with Barisan’s manifesto. It turned out to be ‘copy-paste’. On housing, economic development and small and medium enterprises, everything was copied.

“If you have to choose between the original and the copy, choose the original. Don’t choose the copy,” he said in his speech during a Barisan ceramah held at Kota Masai on Friday (June 3).

Also present at the event were Barisan chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi and Barisan’s Tiram assemblyman Datuk Abdul Halim Suleiman.

He also urged voters to give Barisan a bigger mandate, saying a strong and stable state government under caretaker Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi had enabled the state to record strong economic growth and attract billions of ringgit in investments over the past four years.

Khairy added a standalone Barisan administration would be able to make decisions more quickly without having to negotiate with coalition partners, allowing it to deliver development programmes more effectively for the people.

He defended Barisan’s decision to contest the Johor election on its own, saying Ahmad Zahid had listened to the wishes of grassroots members despite the coalition being part of the unity government at the federal level.

Khairy also revealed that he had never abandoned hope of returning to Umno after being sacked from the party in 2023, saying he rejected invitations from other political parties because he was waiting for Ahmad Zahid to welcome him back.

“I never lost hope that one day the doors of Umno and Barisan would be opened again for me. I thank Ahmad Zahid for accepting me back into the party,” he said.

Calling on party members not to be complacent, Khairy said Barisan must work hard until polling day to secure a convincing victory in Johor.

He expressed confidence that such a result could spark a “blue wave” that would strengthen the coalition ahead of future state elections and eventually the next general election. -  Star