JOHOR BARU, Oct 5 — Johor Umno’s Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed explained that he only abided by his party’s decision to contest the Pulai parliamentary constituency, despite his earlier stand that he no longer wanted to contest in the federal seat that he lost in the 2018 polls.
However, he said Umno believes that his personal stand (to not contest in Pulai) goes against the party’s leadership wishes.
"I am sure many people were surprised when I was again nominated for the Pulai parliamentary seat. If you are surprised, I am equally surprised as well.
"In fact, I have also invited and welcomed senior party leaders from Barisan Nasional (BN) to fill the vacancy I left behind. But no one answered or accepted my invitation.
"Most recently on October 27, I once again stated my position not to contest and that was indeed my plan from the beginning, right after I lost in the 2018 national polls,” said Nur Jazlan in a statement issued here today.
The outspoken Umno politician was commenting on his candidacy today at the Dewan Jubli Intan Sultan Ibrahim to contest the Pulai federal seat for the coming 15th general election (GE15).
Early this year, he had publicly stated that he did not want to contest in Pulai after losing it in the 14th general election (GE14), to give way to younger candidates or new faces.
Nur Jazlan explained that perhaps Umno, that is BN’s lynchpin, sees that I am still relevant to be retained as a candidate here.
He added thar this is also considering that the Pulai seat is one of the 'difficult' seats to win in Johor for BN.
"Maybe Umno needs an experienced leader, who has a track record and understands the dynamics of the Pulai constituency,” said Nur Jazlan.
The three term Pulai MP believes that Umno still has faith in him to continue the mission of recapturing the Pulai seat, which was won by his late father Tan Sri Mohamed Rahmat, the former Information Minister in the 1980s and 1990s.
He said his late father had defended the Pulai constituency under BN for seven terms until 1999.
"After all, the Pulai people are familiar with the services of Umno and BN, starting from the era of my late father for 30 years, then continued by me for another 14 years,” said Nur Jazlan, adding that BN’s track record in Pulai cannot be disputed, as not only the Malay voters benefited, but the entire Pulai community as well.
On going against his personal decision to contest as a candidate, Nur Jazlan described himself as a person loyal to Umno’s leadership.
"As a party person, I accept the party’s decision with an open heart. This is despite knowing that a heavy task awaits me in Pulai,” said the Johor Umno deputy chief.
Nur Jazlan pledged to continue with plans to develop Pulai if he wins, and also to defend the people’s welfare that stalled after 2018 under the then Pakatan Harapan (PH) administration.
"I will try my best to restore the voters’ trust and confidence towards Umno and BN.
"I will also continue devoting my services to the people of Pulai, without the boundaries of race and religion.
The Pulai parliamentary constituency is an urban south Johor seat bordering with Johor Baru and Iskandar Puteri parliaments.
It is a Malay majority seat, making up 51.23 per cent. The Chinese make up 36.88 per cent, followed by the Indians at 10.11 per cent and other races at 2.47 per cent.
