MUAR: Simpang Jeram will be the gateway through which the Opposition coalition Perikatan Nasional captures Johor in the next state election, said one of its top leaders.
“The wave that was triggered in the recently concluded state elections will reach this state all the way down to Singapore,” said Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor, who is election director for Perikatan and PAS, the coalition’s most dominant party.
“Johor will not be excluded. It will start here (Simpang Jeram). In another two-and-a-half years, come the Johor state election, we will take over Johor,” said Muhammad Sanusi, who is also Kedah Mentri Besar, at the launch of the coalition’s election machinery here on Wednesday night.
Out of the 56 state assembly seats in Johor, PAS currently controls one, Maharani, while its partner in Perikatan, Bersatu, holds Bukit Kepong and Endau, as well as the parliamentary constituencies of Pagoh and Mersing.
In the recent six-state elections, Perikatan wiped out almost all its rivals in the Malay heartland states of Kelantan and Kedah and made a clean sweep in Terengganu.The coalition had also made significant gains in culturally diverse Penang, Selangor and Negri Sembilan, which are strongholds of the Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional coalitions.
Analysts have said that Perikatan is expected to face an uphill battle in Simpang Jeram, which is part of the Bakri constituency, as 44% of its voters are Chinese, a community that has so far shunned the coalition.
To overcome this, Muhammad Sanusi said the coalition will correct misconceptions among the community towards Perikatan.
“They need to understand that we are not extremists. They think that (in states under Perikatan), the Chinese are not allowed to wear shorts and that unisex salons are banned. That did not happen. We are not that extreme,” he said, adding that Perikatan’s component party, Gerakan, will assist in canvassing for support from the Chinese community.
“We have speakers who can speak to the community in Mandarin. The important thing is for them to understand who we really are,” he said.
Also present at the launch were PAS deputy president Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, PAS secretary-general Datuk Seri Takiyuddin Hassan, Terengganu Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, Johor Perikatan chief Datuk Dr Sahruddin Jamal and Perikatan’s candidate for the Simpang Jeram seat, Dr Mohd Mazri Yahya.
A Melaka assemblyman from Barisan, Perikatan’s rival, Datuk Muhammad Jailani Khamis, was also spotted at the event.
When met, the Rembia assemblyman said that he was attending the event under Muafakat Nasional, an NGO led by Kelantan Perikatan leader Tan Sri Annuar Musa.
He dismissed speculation that his presence was a sign that he would be leaving Barisan.
