JOHOR BAHRU - Barisan Nasional (BN) is approaching the 16th Johor state election as the underdog and will not take the contest for granted despite a smooth nomination process across all 56 seats and a strong show of support from party members.
Caretaker Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi, who is also BN's Machap candidate, said the coalition would continue to work hard and intensify its outreach efforts to engage as many voters as possible ahead of polling day on July 11.
"Because we are not the federal government, we consider ourselves the underdogs. We will work hard to meet as many 'Bangsa Johor' as we can,” he told newsmen when met at a meet-and-greet session with the residents of Flat Saujana here today.
Onn Hafiz said support for BN candidates had been encouraging so far and expressed hope that the momentum would continue through to polling day.
He also hoped the election would proceed in a peaceful and orderly manner.
"That is the Johor way. We want to preserve harmony so that democracy can continue to flourish in the state,” he said.
Onn Hafiz said the Johor BN manifesto, launched on June 26 and outlining 63 pledges, builds on initiatives already implemented by the state government.
"These include our housing agenda, programmes for Johor youths and the ‘Kasih Johor’ assistance initiative.
"We had also organised the ‘Semarak Subuh’ programme and, Insya-Allah, if BN is given the mandate, we plan to introduce ‘Semarak Isyak’ as well. It's a continuation of what we have (already) done,” he said.
Early voting has been fixed for July 7.
For the latest updates on the 16th Johor state election, visit https://prn.bernama.com/johor/. - BERNAMA