Johor PKR says it expects GE15 to be held in less than 100 days

ULU TIRAM: Johor PKR expects the 15th General Election (GE15) to be held in less than 100 days from now and that all election machinery has been summoned to make their preparations, says former state PKR deputy chief Jimmy Puah Wee Tse.

He said the party will focus on retaining the seven parliamentary seats that the party won during the previous 14th General Election (GE14) and mobilising their machinery to Simpang Renggam.

“We have won seven out of eight parliamentary seats that we have contested during GE14, namely Segamat, Batu Pahat, Tebrau, Pasir Gudang, Johor Baru, Sekijang, and Ledang, and lost in Sembrong.

“However, three MPs from Segamat, Batu Pahat, and Tebrau then decided to become political frogs. So we aim to retain these seats as it involves the party’s dignity,” he said when met after a SMEs free banner handing over programme at Ulu Tebrau, here on Sunday (Aug 7).

PKR Johor will also aim to retain the Simpang Renggam seat that was won by former education minister Dr Maszlee Malik before he joined PKR, he added.

The state leadership have previously met with PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on Aug 3 in Seremban, who has addressed his concerns on the coming GE15.

“The president called a meeting with the southern PKR branch, namely Johor, Melaka, and Negri Sembilan, and shared that we should make preparations for the GE15.

“We have also voiced our support for the appointment of PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli as the new Johor PKR chief. This is the first time we’ve had someone from the top leadership become part of the state leadership lineup.

“We hope his presence in Johor will bring a positive change and he will be able to draw support not only from our supporters but also the new voters and fence-sitters,” he said, adding that this shows how important Johor is to PKR.

Asked whether he would contest in the coming GE15, Puah said that the decision is not up to him and he would leave the matter to the PKR’s leadership.

“But if I can contest, I would prefer to contest near my home,” he said.

Meanwhile, former state PKR women's chief Napsiah Khamis said that they would suggest Puah’s name to be a candidate to contest for the Tebrau parliamentary seat.

“He is already well known in Tebrau and we believe that he will have the highest chance of retaining the seat.

“We need to win Tebrau back after the betrayal done by the former Tebrau division chief, Steven Choong Shiau Yoon,” she added.