JOHOR BAHRU, July 3 — Barisan Nasional (BN) has expressed confidence that the coalition will be able to achieve victory in the 16th Johor State Election (PRN) and thus form a state government to continue the previous administration.
Johor UMNO Liaison Body Deputy Chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Maslan said BN was on the best track to achieve victory in the 16th Johor state election with the target of securing more than 40 of the 56 State Legislative Assembly (DUN) seats being contested.
He said his confidence was based on his observations and assessments after helping with campaigns in 25 of the 26 parliamentary constituencies in Johor.
“Personally, my conclusion and my thinking and my analysis is that BN is in a winning position,” he said in an interview with Bernama.
He said the re-participation of several big names in the Rumah Bangsa initiative such as Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri, Khairy Jamaluddin, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein and Tan Sri Noh Omar who were present to support the nomination of candidates also added value to the campaign work.
Ahmad, who is also the Pontian UMNO Division Chief, said the target could also be achieved based on the response of voters, the candidates’ work and the strength of the party machinery at the Voting District Centre (PDM) level.
He said that throughout the almost week-long campaign, the BN machinery was seen active from morning to night with various activities including house-to-house programmes, checking voter data, training activities and coordinating the operations room.
“I am quite comfortable in the state of Johor seeing the strength and activity of the machinery at PDM which we have made the headquarters or operations room.
“There, from morning until night, there are various activities, whether they go door to door, do data analysis, dry runs and all that,” he said.
Ahmad said BN’s strength in this election was also aided by the presence of recruitment machinery from other states that were stationed throughout Johor to strengthen existing work ahead of polling day on July 11.
He said the approach added value to the BN campaign because the external machinery brought new perspectives, experiences and suggestions in an effort to win over voters.
“This support mechanism is special because it provides a different perspective than usual. For example, in the Pontian Parliament, our support mechanism is the Menteri Besar of Pahang who also assists the Pulai Sebatang, Benut, Kukup and Pekan Nanas state constituencies.
“The perspective of the machinery from Pahang gave us encouragement, new input and views based on their experiences outside our thinking box,” he said.
Ahmad said he would focus fully on the campaign in Johor until polling day, especially in areas considered BN’s priorities, including Larkin, Kempas, Kota Iskandar and Pulai Sebatang.
— BERNAMA
