Johor polls: Umno not afraid of Muda joining the fray, says Ahmad Maslan

JOHOR BARU: Umno does not view Malaysian United Democratic Alliance Muda’s participation in the Johor state polls as a threat and it would just be an additional challenge for the party, says Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan.

The Umno secretary-general said that this was a normal part of democracy.

“In a democratic country, any party would want to contest in an election. We cannot stop them.

“However, we do see it as an additional challenge to our strategy in facing the state election,” he said to the press after attending a meeting with 26 Johor Umno division secretaries here on Tuesday (Jan 25).

“Since the last general election (GE14), Umno has been open to various political dynamics and we have been facing it fearlessly.

“In a mature political setting, we need to be prepared for the emergence of new parties,” he said.

He also said that Umno is prepared to woo young voters following the implementation of Undi18, including introducing new faces as candidates and using social media.

Earlier, Johor Muda chairman Mohd Azrol Ab Rahani said the party’s president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman could be contesting in the coming Johor state election.

He added the party could also be fielding their secretary-general Amira Aisya Abd Aziz.

“Both of them were born in Johor and we want to field local candidates who come from various backgrounds including professionals in the coming state election,” he said.

Meanwhile, Barisan Nasional secretary-general Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir said they would abide by the standard operating procedure set by the Election Commissioner (EC) when campaigning.

He said they would follow all the rules set by the EC, Health Ministry and other related ministries to minimise the risk of spreading Covid-19.

“The campaigning might be different from the recent Melaka state election.

“For example, during the Melaka by-election, we were not allowed to campaign from house-to-house and we abided by it.

“We will find creative ways to campaign,” he said in Pangkor on Tuesday (Jan 25).

The Johor state assembly was dissolved last Saturday (Jan 22) and the EC is expected to announce the dates for nomination and polling soon.