Understanding, power sharing in BN to be proven in Johor state election - Hasni Mohamad

JOHOR BAHRU: The decision by UMNO in fielding its candidates for 37 seats in the Johor state election, instead of 42 as previously announced, is a manifestation of the strong understanding among the Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties.

Johor BN chairman and Menteri Besar Datuk Hasni Mohammad said it was also driven by the BN spirit and the concept of power sharing, which had been the pillar of the coalition.

"We hold to the concept of power sharing, even though (UMNO deputy president) Datuk Seri Utama Haji Mohamad Hasan had said that UMNO had to contest 42 seats, that was our intention (initially), but, in the end, in upholding the spirit of BN, and looking at the situation in Johor, which is different from Melaka, we only go for 37 seats," he said when interviewed by moderator Irfan Faruqi in the Suara Johor programme aired by Bernama TV today.

Late last month, Mohamad had said that UMNO would field 42 candidates in the Johor state election, but two days before the nomination (Feb 26), the party announced that it would field candidates for only 37 of the 56 seats in the state election, while MCA is contesting for 15 seats and four seats by MIC.

In the 14th General Election in 2018, UMNO contested for only 35 state seats.

According to Hasni, in the allocation of seats in BN, the component parties would look for a meeting point that would ensure victory for the coalition.

"Some questioned why is MCA given to contest 15 seats because in GE15, the party contested 15 seats, but lost without winning a single seat. Gerakan, when it was in BN contested two seats, but also lost in both the contest.

"So, when questions like why MCA is given 15 seats, the answer is because of the spirit and concept of power sharing which BN has upheld since its establishment," he added.

He said it was also because of the strong understanding among the BN component parties, the coalition is also able to have women making up 30 per cent of its candidates in this Johor state election.

"Insya-Allah, they will be part of the policy makers in Johor, " he added.

Hasni said BN also recognised the potential of the young people to become leaders and this is reflected with the coalition fielding 26-year-old Kelly Chye Pei Yee as its candidate in the Mengkibol state constituency, making her the youngest candidate in the state election.

According to Hasni, Johor BN understands what should be done to develop Johor.

"We have been with the people for a long time and it has been ages since we make plans for the benefit of the people and it is on this basis, I believe BN will be the people's choice," he said, adding that the state government's administration has to have integrity and capability, as well as ability to implement policies.

The Johor BN chairman and Menteri Besar also touched on political reforms, especially on party hopping.

"We need to be loyal party members. If that is not understood, why should we talk about integrity. That is why there is a need for political reforms," he said.

Hasni also said political reforms was also necessary to address the issue of imbalance in the state constituencies .

Some state constituencies have more than 100,000 voters, but only has one elected representative, compared to some state constituencies which only have 30,000 voters, he added.

The Election Commission has set March 12 as polling day for the Johor state election.

-- BERNAMA