JOHOR BARU: Bersatu will have an electoral pact with Muda, Pejuang and the Malaysian Indian People Party (MIPP) in a move to avoid multi-cornered fights in the Johor state polls.
A senior Bersatu leader said that discussions were underway about their cooperation.
He said that they expect the state polls to be a crowded one with multiple candidates eyeing the seats.
“We need a new strategy to avoid splitting the votes.
“Going solo like what Pejuang did (in the previous 2022 state polls) was not a good strategy as they lost in all 42 constituencies they went for,” he said.
One Johor Pejuang leader confirmed that discussions on a possible electoral pact with Bersatu are ongoing but nothing has been finalised yet.
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Meanwhile, Johor Bersatu chief Datuk Dr Sahruddin Jamal said Bersatu is expected to contest fewer than the 33 seats in 2022 as the party is expected to give way to others under the pact.
Almost 80% of seat negotiations have already been finalised with Muda, Pejuang and MIPP, he added.
“We hope to finalise the balance 20% of seat negotiations soon. We are trying to avoid contesting among ourselves,” he said when contacted.
Asked about their pact with PAS under Perikatan Nasional, he said that would be decided after a special meeting by the top party leaders tomorrow.
In the 2022 state election, Bersatu contested 33 seats and won two (Bukit Kepong and Endau), while PAS went for 15 constituencies and won one seat (Maharani).
Muda contested seven seat and won one (Puteri Wangsa). Pejuang went for 42 seats but many of its candidates ended up losing their deposits.
Gerakan did not win in any of the eight seats that it contested.
MIPP will be making its debut in Johor’s 16th state election.
Dr Sahruddin, who is expected to defend his Bukit Kepong seat, which was won by 710 votes, expressed confidence that the party would be able to win more seats this time around in view of the electoral pact with the other parties.
Asked if Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was expected to be fielded as a candidate, Dr Sahruddin said there were no such plans for now.
As for the announcement by incumbent Endau assemblyman Alwiyah Talib that she was exiting Bersatu to rejoin Umno, he said that this would not pose a major issue as they already have another candidate to contest in the area.
In the 2018 Johor state polls, Alwiyah won the Endau seat as an Umno candidate before deciding to join Bersatu.
She successfully retained the Endau seat under the Perikatan banner in 2022.
Another Bersatu leader, when contacted, said he hoped that all issues with PAS could be ironed out soon so that there would be no problem during the campaigning period.
“We in Johor have a good working relationship with their leaders here. Anyway we will have to wait for direction from our party leaders,” he said.
He added that Bersatu would need to deal with members and leaders who remained loyal to Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin, who was party deputy president until his sacking.
He also said he hoped the party candidates would be unveiled before or during the Johor Bersatu convention scheduled for June 21.
