We didn’t need your help post-GE14, Tok Mat tells Hadi
Mohamad Hasan says Abdul Hadi Awang got it wrong about Umno as it still has 42 seats, which is the largest single bloc in the Dewan Rakyat.
PETALING JAYA: Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan has rubbished any notion that it was “injured” and needed help from PAS to recover after it lost the 14th general elections (GE14) in 2018.
Responding to PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang’s recent attack on Umno, likening it to a “healed duck who was ungrateful to the party which saved it from being drowned when it was injured”, Mohamad said Umno did not need anyone’s help to recover.
“Umno was not saved by anyone else. Both Umno and PAS ‘sank’ together in GE14,” he said in an exclusive interview on Astro Awani tonight.
“BN won 79 seats in GE14. Then the (current) Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) component parties left BN. But we were still left with 55 seats.
“Today, (after several defections) BN still has 42 seats, which is the largest bloc in the Dewan Rakyat. So, I think Hadi got it wrong.”
In a video posted on Facebook on Friday, Hadi blamed Umno leaders for triggering the Johor state elections just two months after winning the Melaka polls. He also accused Umno of being “undignified and acting unfairly” by leaving out PAS in both state elections.
“Perikatan Nasional (PN) parties, PAS and Bersatu, have their own strengths and will strike back at Umno’s strategy of triggering state elections,” he said.
However, Mohamad said Umno did not push for the Johor state elections because of “a feel-good factor” after winning the Melaka polls by a landslide two months ago.
“Many people are making such claims, but Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) are not over confident about winning in the Johor polls. Anything is possible.
“Johor is not like Melaka. It has different voter demographics and it is also a huge state,” he said, adding that despite Johor being a supposed “Umno fortress”, BN still lost the state in GE14.
He also said that the Johor polls were being held to give the mandate to Johoreans to vote for a new state government since the recent administration, led by BN and Perikatan Nasional (PN) in a loose coalition, was not chosen by the people.
“It (state government) was formed through an agreement among the state assemblymen. Plus, people are saying that this is a backdoor government, so we want to let the people choose the next government.”
He added that a new vote was necessary after all the uncertainties surrounding the political situation in the state with the ruling coalition having a single-seat majority in the state assembly following the passing of former Bersatu assemblyman Osman Sapian last month.
“Johor’s political situation might look peaceful on the surface, but it is very chaotic at the bottom.
“You have instances where you don’t have a majority vote because an assemblyman was under Covid quarantine. How do you manage a state with these problems, when you have a razor-thin majority in the state assembly?” he said.
Before the Johor state assembly was dissolved on Jan 23, the then ruling coalition had 28 seats, while 27 seats were held by Pakatan Harapan.
The Election Commission will be meeting on Feb 9 to decide on the nomination and polling dates for the Johor state elections.
PETALING JAYA: Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan has rubbished any notion that it was “injured” and needed help from PAS to recover after it lost the 14th general elections (GE14) in 2018.
Responding to PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang’s recent attack on Umno, likening it to a “healed duck who was ungrateful to the party which saved it from being drowned when it was injured”, Mohamad said Umno did not need anyone’s help to recover.
“Umno was not saved by anyone else. Both Umno and PAS ‘sank’ together in GE14,” he said in an exclusive interview on Astro Awani tonight.
“BN won 79 seats in GE14. Then the (current) Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) component parties left BN. But we were still left with 55 seats.
“Today, (after several defections) BN still has 42 seats, which is the largest bloc in the Dewan Rakyat. So, I think Hadi got it wrong.”
In a video posted on Facebook on Friday, Hadi blamed Umno leaders for triggering the Johor state elections just two months after winning the Melaka polls. He also accused Umno of being “undignified and acting unfairly” by leaving out PAS in both state elections.
“Perikatan Nasional (PN) parties, PAS and Bersatu, have their own strengths and will strike back at Umno’s strategy of triggering state elections,” he said.
However, Mohamad said Umno did not push for the Johor state elections because of “a feel-good factor” after winning the Melaka polls by a landslide two months ago.
“Many people are making such claims, but Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) are not over confident about winning in the Johor polls. Anything is possible.
“Johor is not like Melaka. It has different voter demographics and it is also a huge state,” he said, adding that despite Johor being a supposed “Umno fortress”, BN still lost the state in GE14.
He also said that the Johor polls were being held to give the mandate to Johoreans to vote for a new state government since the recent administration, led by BN and Perikatan Nasional (PN) in a loose coalition, was not chosen by the people.
“It (state government) was formed through an agreement among the state assemblymen. Plus, people are saying that this is a backdoor government, so we want to let the people choose the next government.”
He added that a new vote was necessary after all the uncertainties surrounding the political situation in the state with the ruling coalition having a single-seat majority in the state assembly following the passing of former Bersatu assemblyman Osman Sapian last month.
“Johor’s political situation might look peaceful on the surface, but it is very chaotic at the bottom.
“You have instances where you don’t have a majority vote because an assemblyman was under Covid quarantine. How do you manage a state with these problems, when you have a razor-thin majority in the state assembly?” he said.
Before the Johor state assembly was dissolved on Jan 23, the then ruling coalition had 28 seats, while 27 seats were held by Pakatan Harapan.
The Election Commission will be meeting on Feb 9 to decide on the nomination and polling dates for the Johor state elections.
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