JOHOR BARU: A Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia leader has cautioned Umno against being overconfident about a state election in view of the pool of new voters aged below 21.

       Each of the 56 constituencies would see an increase of at least 20% to 25% of voters, said Bersatu affiliate wing (non-Malays) deputy national chairman Dr Chong Fat Full (pic).

       They would form a huge voting bloc, he added.

       Undi18, which set the minimum voting age to 18 instead of 21, came into force on Dec 15 last year.

       On Jan 6, the Johor assembly amended its state constitution to follow suit.

       “I hope Umno is not pushing for a state election just to find out voting trends among the youth as part of its prelude to the 15th General Election (GE15),” he said in an interview.

       Dr Chong, who is also Johor’s unity, trade and consumer affairs committee chairman, said that all the five Bersatu executive councillors were in the dark over a state election.

       “So far, this has not been discussed at the exco level during our weekly discussions.

       “He (Mentri Besar Datuk Hasni Mohammad) should at least let us know what is happening as we are also part of the state government,” he said.

       The MB, he added, had been asking all the exco members to concentrate on their work and achieve their KPIs (key performance indicators).

       The Johor government comprises 10 state executive councillors, five each from Barisan Nasional and Bersatu.

       Talk about an impending state election gained traction following the death of Bersatu assemblyman Datuk Osman Sapian last month.

       His passing meant that the present Umno-led state government only has a one-seat majority in the state assembly.

       Johor Bersatu information chief Mohd Solihan Badri said all quarters should put a stop to speculation about a state election.

       So far, he said all state assemblymen were together in supporting the government and maintaining political stability.

       Hasni should be confident about the government that he was leading and not be influenced by talk from those outside the government, he added.

       Mohd Solihan, who is also Johor public works, infrastructure and transportation committee chairman, said Johor Bersatu was making this call as there had been much chatter about the state assembly being dissolved on Saturday.

       He stressed that Johor Bersatu was not worried about its position in the state government although it was only a one-seat majority.

       “Even the Pakatan Harapan representative agreed with the Johor government when it came to supporting the state budget,” he added.

       Mohd Solihan, who is also Tenang assemblyman, said Hasni’s priority now should be on improving the performance of the state administration as it would be a key factor in getting support not just from the people but also Perikatan Nasional and Pakatan.

       “We can see the way the assemblymen from Perikatan and Pakatan supported Hasni for being fair in allocating RM10,000 to all for Chinese New Year celebrations in their constituencies.

       “With such a good performance, there should be no room for Hasni to feel uncomfortable or worried about the stability of the government with a one-seat majority,” he added.