MUAR: Political parties campaigning in the by-elections for the Pulai parliamentary and Simpang Jeram state seats should mind their manners and maintain harmony through the “Johor way”, says Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi.
“I would like to remind all parties involved to be mindful and proper while campaigning so that harmony can be maintained.“Do not be influenced by the style of campaigning in other states.
“Johor has its own way and Bangsa Johor understands what I mean by this,” he said during nomination day for the Simpang Jeram state seat at Dewan Jubli Intan Sultan Ibrahim here yesterday.
In Johor Baru, several banners were put up in Pulai declaring that Umno branches in the Pulai Umno division had rejected Pakatan Harapan candidate Suhaizan Kaiat.
However, its division chief Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed said the banners, photos of which were uploaded to social media platforms, were a tactic by political opponents.
He said if the allegation was true, he would have heard about it from the grassroots.
“As division chief, I give my assurance to Pakatan and Suhaizan that we will support the unity government candidate to defend the Pulai parliamentary seat,” he added.
Meanwhile, Johor police chief Comm Datuk Kamarul Zaman Mamat reminded all political parties not to touch on 3R (race, religion and royalty) throughout the campaign period.
He said 1,200 policemen had been deployed to Pulai and 500 to Simpang Jeram to ensure security was maintained during the by-elections.
Polling day for both Pulai and Simpang Jeram by-elections has been set for Sept 9 while early voting is on Sept 5.