BARISAN Nasional (BN) information chief Md Jais Sarday said the coalition will go all out to ensure Chinese voters come out to vote for Amanah candidates in the coming Pulai and Simpang Jeram by-elections.

Md Jais, who is also Johor Umno information chief, said to achieve this, BN must implement its strategy carefully to allow its ally Pakatan Harapan to retain the two seats.

BN/Umno controls 40 out of 56 state seats in Johor.

“The Chinese may be the kingmakers, as Pulai is a mixed seat with 40.46% of the voters comprising Chinese constituents.

“Due to the Chinese voters and a huge turnout of voters in the Johor state election, Pulai MP Salahuddin Ayub won the seat with a huge majority of 33,000 votes,” Md Jais was quoted as saying in The Star Online today.

The by-elections are necessary following Salahuddin’s death on July 23. 

He was Amanah’s deputy president and served as the domestic trade and cost of living minister. 

Amanah has named Suhaizan Kaiat as its candidate for Pulai and Nazri Abdul Rahman for Simpang Jeram.

Md Jais said last year’s election for Simpang Jeram saw the combined votes for BN and PH hitting almost 15,000 votes. 

“It’s still important that both BN and PH work hard to retain the seats. Any loss of either seat will be perceived by many as PAS making inroads into Johor,” said Md Jais.

Pulai’s parliamentary seat has 166,653 voters, comprising 44% Malays, 40.46% Chinese, 12.31% Indians, and 3% others.

Simpang Jeram used to be a PAS stronghold with a total of 40,488 voters, comprising 51.87% Malays, 44.58% Chinese, 2.5% Indians, and 1% others. 

Meanwhile, Amanah president Mohamad Sabu was reported as saying he was confident of retaining these two seats with the support of “new friends, which are Umno and Barisan Nasional”. – August 25, 2023.