PETALING JAYA – Barisan Nasional (BN) Chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has sent a clear message to his political partners. He reminded them that the current national government would not exist without his coalition. Zahid spoke at a major launch event for the BN Johor election team in Iskandar Puteri. He said that Pakatan Harapan (PH) needed the 30 parliament seats from BN to form a majority and run the country. He explained that this big contribution to the stability of Malaysia is a fact that no one can ignore.
This reminder comes at a very interesting time. Even though the two groups are partners at the national level, they are about to fight each other in the upcoming Johor state election. The Johor state assembly was dissolved on 1 June, which was 10 months earlier than planned. Right after the announcement, Johor BN said it wants to contest all 56 seats completely on its own. Johor PH then responded that it will also contest every single seat in the state.
“We will meet you there,” Zahid said, welcoming the challenge from his partners.
The Deputy Prime Minister also defended Johor Chief Minister Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi. Some critics said that calling for an early election was just a political game. Zahid disagreed, saying that giving the choice back to the voters is the right thing to do in a democracy. He said it shows the Chief Minister is not just trying to stay comfortable in power.
Zahid told the party members that the Johor election is the first step to bring back the “blue wave” across Malaysia. He asked all members to stop arguing about who will be chosen to run and to focus entirely on winning the votes.
