JOHOR BARU, Jan 23 — Johor Umno Youth has insisted that the Johor state election was not motivated by a need for power or to protect the ‘court cluster’ as alleged by certain political leaders.
Instead, it is a democratic effort needed to establish a stable government to administer the state, Johor Umno Youth chief Mohd Hairi Mad Shah said.
He said a new mandate from the people of the state was necessary as the state government is unstable and could only move based on the ‘goodwill of the opposition’.
He added that everyone should accept the reality of the situation and it should not happen in a state that required a stable and strong government to ensure that plans for the state could be intensified and conducted smoothly.
“An example given by Umno Liaision Committee chief Datuk Hasni Mohammad yesterday was a situation that showed that the government was unstable, where the Johor opposition had raised negotiations on the District Development Action Committee at the Johor state legislative assembly sitting after the 2022 Johor Budget was tabled in November.
“Voting conducted through the negotiations led to a 27-vote tie. The assembly speaker, Suhaizan Kaiat decided in favour of the government, making the decision 28-27 to break the deadlock,” he said in a statement today.
Mohd Hairi said they were aware that Malaysians were still affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and some are also dealing with the post-flood situation but as a political party, having a stable government was important to ensure all policies and aid that can benefit the people could be planned effectively.
Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Hasni Mohammad had said yesterday that Barisan Nasional required a new mandate from the people to continue people-centric programmes as a thin majority had caused the state government to function at the mercy of the opposition.
Sultan Johor Sultan Ibrahim Almarhum Sultan Iskandar consented to the dissolution of the Johor State Legislative Assembly yesterday to pave the way for the state election to be held. — Bernama
