Johor Umno Youth denies power struggle, court cluster behind polls

Johor Umno Youth yesterday said that the state election was not motivated by a need for power or to protect the “court cluster” as alleged by some political leaders.

Instead, it was 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 was necessary as the state government was unstable and could only move based on the “goodwill of the opposition”.

“An example given by Umno liaision committee chief Hasni Mohammad was a situation that showed that the government was unstable, where the Johor opposition 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.

Hairi said they were aware that Malaysians were still affected by the Covid-19 pandemic and that some were also dealing with the post-flood situation.

But as a political party, he added, having a stable government was important to ensure that all policies and aid that could benefit the people could be planned effectively.

Hasni, the menteri besar, had said that Barisan Nasional required a new mandate from the people to continue with people-centric programmes as a thin majority had caused the state government to function at the mercy of the opposition.

Johor ruler Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar consented to the dissolution of the Johor state legislative assembly on Saturday, to pave the way for a state election.