JOHOR BAHRU: PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang was not right in alleging that the upcoming Johor state election was engineered by the "court cluster" and those who lost in the 14th general election (GE14), said Ketereh UMNO division chief Tan Sri Annuar Musa.

He said the holding of the election was in the interests of the people and Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Hasni Mohammad decided to dissolve the State Legislative Assembly after consulting various parties and obtaining the consent of the Sultan of Johor, Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar.

"To me, it's just an (Abdul Hadi's) opinion, not fact. Maybe the opinion was based on information sources that are not authentic.

"The election is not due to the court cluster. It was called because the Menteri Besar felt that Johor should not be in a situation which can stifle its development and government duties because the state has high potential," he told reporters after being interviewed by Johor FM at RTM Johor here today.

The phrase court cluster refers to high-profile leaders who are facing court cases.

Annuar, who is Communications and Multimedia Minister, said Johor was in an unusual situation where the state government enjoyed just a slim majority in the state assembly.

Also present were Malaysian National News Agency (Bernama) chief executive officer Datuk Mokhtar Hussain and Broadcasting director-general Datuk Che Roslan Che Daud.

Annuar, who is also Ketereh MP, said this when asked to comment on Abdul Hadi's remark on the Johor polls.

He urged all political leaders to avoid making statements which could hurt the feelings of others and to respect Johor's decision to hold the election.

He said that in principle all quarters should continue cooperating for the sake of the people, just like the government of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob needs the continued support of PAS, Bersatu and opposition parties.

"Because at the national level we have a heavy responsibility to fulfil. That is a suitable formula which we will continue to support in the federal government; in the states it's a different matter.

"So, let Johor make its call based on the people's interests; we at the federal level will continue to help," he added.

Yesterday, Abdul Hadi, who is also Marang MP, was reported as saying that it was not a good idea to hold the Johor election at this time and that it was a strategy inspired by the court cluster and those who lost in GE14 and are without posts.

-- BERNAMA