Hamzah Zainudin: Umno’s rejection of Perikatan wave in Johor symptom of denial syndrome

JOHOR BARU, Aug 26 — Umno is living in denial by rejecting the “green wave” phenomenon happening in Johor, Perikatan Nasional (PN) secretary general Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin said today.

He was responding to Umno leaders who dismissed the possibility that the Opposition PN could influence voters in the Johor twin by-elections for the Pulai parliamentary seat and the Simpang Jeram state seat that kicked off following nominations this morning.

“We are not bothered about what Umno says as the people know and they don't forget.

“Personally, Umno can go on and continue with their denial syndrome,” he told reporters at the entrance to the Dewan Jubli Intan Sultan Ibrahim here.

He said the Umno leaders were merely repeating their comments made during campaigning for the August 12 six state elections.

Hamzah had earlier accompanied PN’s Pulai by-election candidate Zulkifli Jaafar to file his nomination papers for the parliamentary contest.

Zulkifli, a first-time PN candidate, is up against Pakatan Harapan (PH) hopeful Suhaizan Kayat and independent Samsudin Mohamad Fauzi.

Also present were Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) deputy president Datuk Seri Ahmad Faizal Azumu, party vice-president Datuk Ronald Kiandee and the party’s supreme council member Datuk Radzi Md Jidin.

Hamzah said Zulkifli was selected as a PN candidate because the coalition is confident that he is able to serve, in addition to knowing his responsibilities and understanding the interests of the people.

“Despite being a new face, Zulkifli's advantage as a community activist will also help in the effort to wrest the Pulai parliamentary seat from PH,” he said.

On PN’s preparations for the campaign trial, Hamzah said he is satisfied with the coalition’s election machinery pace, which was running smoothly.

The Larut MP added that this included ensuring that voters understood PN’s struggles.

“We hope that the people, especially the voters, will make the right choice in the by-elections.

“They can refer to PN’s past success when the coalition was in power as the Federal government previously,” he said.

Hamzah also pointed out that when PN was in the federal government, it did not find fault with the Opposition, but instead looked for solutions to public problems.

He said this was proven during the Covid-19 pandemic period.

“However, when the new government took over, the economy declined and even an analyst projected that the country's economic growth of five per cent this year would not happen,” he said.