BATU PAHAT: Umno's decision to reduce the seats it will contest in the March 12 Johor state election proves that component parties under Barisan Nasional practised tolerance with one another, said party vice president Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid.

       "We are a coalition older than 60 years and we (component parties) must be tolerant," he told reporters on Friday (Feb 25) after an event at Parit Sulong.

       "There was a compromise by Umno, MIC and MCA. In the end, a consensus was achieved yesterday (Thursday, Feb 24)," he added.

       Barisan consists of Umno, MCA, MIC and PBRS.

       Recently, Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan said the party was aiming to contest at least 42 out of the 56 state seats in Johor.

       However, state Barisan chairman Datuk Hasni Mohammad announced on Thursday that Umno will contest 37 seats, MCA 15 and MIC four.

       Mahdzir also said Barisan was optimistic about recapturing the seats it lost in the 14th General Election in 2018.

       "Because of what happened in Melaka and Sarawak recently, it was evident that voters cast their ballots differently than in 2018," he said.

       In the Melaka state election in November, Barisan secured a two-thirds majority winning 21 out of 28 seats.

       In the December Sarawak election, saw ruling coalition Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) won 76 out of 82 state seats while Pakatan Harapan managed to retain only two seats, Pending and Padungan.

       Nomination for the Johor election is on Saturday (Feb 26) with early polling on March 8.