Johor PKR Youth leader questions red carpet for Muda to cherry-pick ‘easy’ seats

JOHOR BARU, Feb 10 — A Johor PKR Youth leader today questioned the “special” treatment allegedly given to Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda) for the state election, following the recent seat negotiations between Pakatan Harapan (PH) component parties.

Johor PKR Youth vice-chief Faezuddin Puad said Muda should live up to its name by empowering the youth to be confident, courageous, and keen for challenges.

He said Muda should consequently demonstrate these characteristics by contesting more difficult seats along the state’s east coast, such as Penawar, Tanjung Surat, Tenggaroh, Sedili or Johor Lama.

Instead, Muda was going after “easy” seats, Faezuddin said when describing the party as a spoiled child who is afraid of challenge.

“They are just hoping to contest in seats that are easy to win or seats that have the potential to win only,” he said in a statement issued here today.

This week, PKR’s allies in Pakatan Harapan, DAP and Amanah, yielded six state constituencies for Muda to contest in the Johor state election.

These included Puteri Wangsa, a Chinese-majority state constituency that PKR previously ceded to Amanah.

Amanah’s decision to yield the spot to Muda has upset PKR members, who accused Muda — which was not in PH — of being demanding in the seat negotiations.

Today, Faezuddin reminded Muda that the public will not be able to measure the party’s real strength if it only runs in easy seats that could easily be won.

“The party must be confident that they can give a tough challenge or win in those seats.

 “Only then can we see how far Muda can survive in the political world and measure the strength of their machinery.

“At the same time, we can also evaluate whether Johoreans know Muda as what they claim to be,” said Faezuddin.

He also asked why others in PH were giving Muda preferential treatment, saying the fledgling party has not done anything to deserve this.

“I wonder what is so special about Muda when they have not been tested?” he asked.

Besides Barisan Nasional (BN), Perikatan Nasional (PN), PH and Muda, the other political parties that have expressed their intention to contest in the state election include Parti Warisan (Warisan), Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM), Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia (Putra) and Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang).

The Election Commission has set March 12 as polling day for the Johor state election. Nomination day is set for February 26 with early voting on March 8.