JOHOR BARU, Feb 5 — Umno has its own strategy to introduce its candidates for the Johor state election and will not follow the actions of other parties, said its Information chief Shahril Suffian Hamdan.

He said the question on who and when the candidates would be announced would be decided by the party and Barisan Nasional (BN) leadership.

"Umno and BN are not bound by the methods or approaches of other parties. We make decisions based on what is considered best for the party and the people,” he told reporters after a dialogue with university students here today.

Shahril, who is also Umno Youth vice-chief, said he was confident that Umno president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi; Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan, who is also Johor state election director, and Johor Umno Liaison Committee chairman Datuk Hasni Mohammad, had their own strategies on the selection of candidates.

He said in response to Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) move in introducing its candidates for the Johor state election since yesterday, although the Election Commission (EC) had yet to announce the important dates for the election.

Yesterday, PH announced that incumbent Paloh Assemblyman Sheikh Umar Bagharib Ali from DAP would be defending his seat as its candidate in the coming election.

Today, PH is scheduled to introduce its candidates for the Mengkibol and Mahkota state seats.

On the call by the Umno president for the party machinery to focus on campaigning through the social media, instread of through the conventional methods, Shahril said they would use the strategy during the Melaka state election.

"We already have the experience in the Melaka state election where many of our campaigns were through the use of digital channels,” he added. — Bernama