Johor polls: Umno divisions wanting to contest non-traditional seats is normal in politics, says Ahmad Maslan

Ahmad Maslan speaking to reporters after the dinner function on Monday (Feb 7) as Pontian MCA division chief Datuk Tee Siew Kiong looks on.

PONTIAN: Several Umno divisions in Johor have submitted requests for seats traditionally contested by other Barisan Nasional component parties.

However, Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan played it cool and said such requests were a common affair in current politics.

“We look at the requests as something normal because in the end, it is the party’s state and federal leaders who will make the final decision,” he told reporters after attending Pontian MCA’s Chinese New Year dinner function with non-governmental organisations here on Monday (Feb 7).

The Pontian MP was commenting on reports about Umno divisions wanting to field candidates in Malay-majority areas including seats usually allocated to other Barisan members.

Among these voices was Tanjung Piai Umno division chief Datuk Jefridin Atan who wanted to see Umno candidates in the Malay-majority seats of Kukup and Pekan Nanas which were previously contested by MCA.

On a separate matter, Ahmad chided Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) information chief Wan Saiful Wan Jan for saying Barisan called for the state election because “the Umno leaders’ pockets and bank accounts were unstable”.

“This is an outrageous and irresponsible statement and should not have come out of the mouth of any politician in the country.

“If that was the case, I can also say that PPBM stands for Parti Pelompat (hoppers) Bersatu Malaysia because out of their 31 (elected representatives), 25 were those who hopped into the party.

“But if I say this, they might get angry. So do not talk about pockets and such as it is quite irresponsible on his part,” he said.

On Feb 7, Wan Saiful reportedly called caretaker mentri besar Datuk Hasni Mohammad a failed MB at an event, as the latter called for snap polls due to the unstable state government with a majority of only one seat.

“What is actually unstable is the Umno leaders’ pockets and accounts as there are Perikatan Nasional leaders in the state executive council line-up to provide checks and balances,” Wan Saiful had said.

Ahmad said the reality is that Bersatu and PAS did not share good ties and they should realise that Umno and Bersatu's relationship is also strained.

“The snap polls are not to see who has failed or succeeded but to form a stable state government.

“The Umno-Bersatu relationship is this way partly because they were with Pakatan Harapan in GE14 which caused the downfall of Barisan.

“I hope they do not forget that so easily,” he added.