Johor Umno chief brushes aside vote sabotage rumour among its youth ranks
PONTIAN, Nov 8 — Johor Umno chief Datuk Hasni Mohammad today rubbished allegations of sabotage among the party’s ranks, especially involving its youth wing, due to the Barisan Nasional’s (BN) candidate’s ethnicity ahead of the Tanjung Piai polls on November 16.
He said any issues with BN’s Tanjung Piai by-election candidate Datuk Seri Wee Jeck Seng, who is from MCA, has been clearly communicated with Umno and its youth wing.
“I can assure that Umno is 100 per cent behind Wee to wrest the parliamentary seat away from Pakatan Harapan (PH),” said Hasni at a “meet and greet” session in BN’s Rimba Terjun district polling centre here today.
Hasni, who is also the Johor BN chief, said this in response to a news article in an English daily today, claiming protest of votes among the Tanjung Piai Umno Youth ranks as Wee’s candidacy for the by-election could push some party members to cast their votes in favour PH’s Karmaine Sardini.
However, Hasni said there may be young voters who are more inclined to vote a candidate based on their race.
“The role of Umno Youth is to go down to the ground and explain to them the importance of choosing the right candidate.
“This is not a racial issue and it is important not to vote based on sentiments,” Hasni said.
The Tanjung Piai by-election will see a six-cornered contest between PH’s Karmaine, BN’s Wee, Gerakan’s Wendy Subramaniam, Barisan Jemaah Islamiah Se-Malaysia’s (Berjasa) Datuk Badhrulhisham Abdul Aziz and two independent candidates Ang Chuan Lock and Faridah Aryani Abdul Ghaffar.
The by-election was called following the death of incumbent PH’s Datuk Dr Md Farid Md Rafik from Parti Pribimi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) on September 21.
The Election Commission (EC) has set early voting on November 12, while polling is on November 16.
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