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KUALA LUMPUR, March 28 — Historical election data indicates that PAS would lose all its seats in Johor even if it gets more to contest under the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition, said Datuk Hasni Mohammad.
Hasni, who is also the Johor mentri besar and state Umno liaison chairman, said he told this bluntly to PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang and his deputy, Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, when they sought his opinion on PAS’s overall chances in the state.
“I told both PAS leaders, we have heard that through negotiations with PN, it will give space for PAS to contest in 15 out of 26 state seats, which is a lot.
“I have told them both, frankly they will lose all of the seats. PAS will lose out on all seats just like the years before.
“Even when BN was at its worst in GE14, PAS managed to win only one seat and even then, it was due to a technicality as the Bersatu candidate was not eligible to contest,” he said during his debate of Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s policy speech for the party’s 75th annual general assembly.
During GE14, PAS contested 41 state seats and 20 parliamentary seats in Johor but only won the Bukit Pasir state seat where its candidate, Najib Lep, won 9,835 votes over Barisan Nasional’s Noriah Mahat’s 7,952 votes.
Prior to the polls, Bersatu’s candidate, Pizi Jihat, was disqualified for being bankrupt.
Earlier in his speech, Hasni said despite recently signing a Mufakat Nasional state charter, the BN model is considered to be best for the state.
He also asked Umno national leaders to give the Johor chapter autonomy to decide how to contest seats in the state and urged the party to make decisions for seat allocation based on facts and data rather than a specific quota.
“So, allow us the space and opportunity to plan our strategy for Johor. My conclusion is this, we have to be open and accept the fact that the political landscape now is not complete, not complete and not permanent. If we accept this fact, then we can sleep soundly at night.
“That is why I prefer that we do not hold on to the concept of quotas, such as quotas for component parties or ourselves. If we are truly a dominant party, then we should be driven by science and data,” he said.