TITI: The blue wave that swept Johor will also reach Negri Sembilan, says Barisan Nasional chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
The Deputy Prime Minister said the understanding with Perikatan Nasional was only a week old and that friction on the ground would be settled before polling.
"We do not have any formal agreement, but we have an understanding," he said after visiting Kampung Tohor in Chennah on Friday (July 24).
He said the response on the seventh day of campaigning had been very good, with seven days of campaigning left.
Asked about claims that the joint machinery had yet to move properly, Ahmad Zahid said compatibility had to be built and that several sticking points still needed resolving.
"Give them the chance to settle the matters that are sticking points for them. It will certainly be resolved before polling," he said.
He said both sides had once intended to work together but the plan was shelved, and that the earlier experience would help them do better this time.
Ahmad Zahid said the arrangement could be extended, but only after Negri Sembilan.
"Let us see first what happens in Negri Sembilan, and after that we will also see what happens in Melaka," he said, adding that he hoped the working relationship would develop organically and that sincerity mattered most.
Meanwhile, Ahmad Zahid said Barisan would push to create 50,000 jobs in the state over five years if it won back the government.
He said Negri Sembilan's gross domestic product growth of about 4.6% was below the national level of 5.2%, while Johor was at 8%.
"We see that there is very wide room for economic growth if Negri Sembilan is administered again by Barisan," he said, adding that the state could become a new corridor for industry and development.
Ahmad Zahid said Selangor, Melaka and Johor had grown faster, and that industrial investment would allow premium wage jobs, above the minimum wage, to be offered to young people.
"We want the children of Negri Sembilan to work in Negri Sembilan and live in Negri Sembilan, and to help develop the state," he said.
He said the continuity of past programmes had been lacking over the two terms since Barisan lost the state, and that a returning administration would revive what other mentri besar in the past have started, drawing investors from abroad and within the country.
The coalition was not promising the moon and the stars but would lay out something better for the people of the state, he added.
Ahmad Zahid, who is also Rural and Regional Development Minister, said a special officer for Orang Asli affairs could be placed at the Mentri Besar's office without it being a manifesto pledge.
He said the arrangement had worked well in Pahang and Perak, and suggested that Johor do the same given its large Orang Asli population.
Asked about DAP's Hannah Yeoh's remark that the Barisan-Perikatan pairing was a Titanic waiting to sink, he said: "Let us see who sinks and who surfaces on Aug 1."
Barisan won 48 of 56 seats in Johor on July 11, with Pakatan Harapan taking eight.
In Negri Sembilan, Barisan and Perikatan, without Bersatu, reached an understanding to avoid clashing in all 36 seats.
