JOHOR BAHRU – Campaigning for the Johor state election should focus on manifestos and policy debates rather than revisiting personal matters and old controversies, says Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate for the Puteri Wangsa state seat Dr Maszlee Malik.
He said those who continued to raise such issues were merely trying to compensate for a lack of substantive arguments.
"Let's discuss manifestos, let's discuss policies and what we can offer the people.
"But those who have run out of arguments resort to personal issues and old stories that have long been resolved," he said during the Johor State Election Dialogue at Permata Sari Auditorium, RTM, here on Tuesday.
Responding to the Simpang Renggam toll issue, which has resurfaced during the campaign, Maszlee said it was part of PH's 2018 election manifesto, during which the coalition's administration lasted only a short period.
He said he had already apologised over the matter and saw no reason for it to continue being used as campaign material.
"If one toll issue is being raised, why not also raise the 10 promises made by Johor Barisan Nasional (BN) Johor ahead of the 2022 state election that were never fulfilled?
"If we want to be fair, then raise those issues too and explain why those manifesto promises were not implemented," he said.
On criticism surrounding his portrayal of an imprisoned prime minister in a film, Maszlee said the matter had already been resolved after he apologised and requested the producer to remove the relevant scene.
He also touched on the debate over the introduction of black school shoes, saying the policy continued to receive support from parents.
"Ask parents who disagrees with black shoes. The only ones objecting are netizens whose own children wear black shoes," he said.
Maszlee said his priority now was to serve the people of Puteri Wangsa by understanding their concerns and working with residents to make the constituency a model state seat through quality public service.
He said he was also committed to working alongside his PH colleagues to steer Johor towards inclusive prosperity that benefits all segments of society, including workers, farmers and smallholders, rather than only the elite.