Current atmosphere similar to before GE14, says Rafizi

JOHOR BARU: The current atmosphere among voters is similar to that of the 14th General Elections, says Rafizi Ramli.

"I noticed from the reaction of those attending tonight's ceramah that they are not hardcore party supporters and are mostly fence sitters.

"So, no matter what you say, there will not be much reaction," said the PKR deputy president.

Speaking at a press conference after giving a speech at the Ayuh Malaysia program here on Saturday (Sept 17) night, he said this was different from an audience of supporters who would cheer before anything could be said.

"This is actually a good sign. Previously, we (Pakatan Harapan and PKR) have failed to convince fence-sitters to go out and vote during the state election. So, I think we are now on the right track," he said.

Rafizi also said that the results of the state election were not the real indication of the support and prospects for Barisan Nasional or Umno when it comes to the general election.

Earlier in his speech, Rafizi said that Johor was one of the most important states to win in the next general election as it had the second-most number of Parliamentary seats in the country.

"There are only three states with a high number of Parliamentary seats, they are Sarawak (31), Johor (26) and Sabah (25).

"No party or coalition could ever take over Putrajaya without first winning Parliamentary seats in Johor," he said.

On Sunday (Sept 11), state Umno information chief Datuk Seri Dr Adham Baba said that Barisan was likely to win 16 of the 26 parliamentary seats in Johor in the next general election.

The coalition initially set a target of winning at least 20 seats.

However, based on research and information gathered by the information bureau, only 16 is "realistic", said Dr Adham.