PONTIAN: Umno is ready to face the challenges brought by fragments of old parties in the Johor state election, says party president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

       He added that Barisan Nasional had faced similar multi-cornered fights brought by the new parties during the previous Melaka and Sarawak state elections.

       “We have also faced more than two-cornered fights during these two state elections. But we are confident Barisan will continue to receive support even from those who rejected us during the 14th General Election,” he said after visiting the Pulai Sebatang Barisan election machinery here on Saturday (Feb 26).

       He said this when asked to comment on the Election Commission (EC) statement on two seats that saw seven-cornered fights, namely Tiram and Kempas, while 35 other seats saw four-cornered competition.

       Ahmad Zahid said that the Barisan election machinery is more than ready to carry out their duties throughout the 14-day campaign period.

       He added that he had earlier heard the rumour about the Opposition's plan to unite against Barisan, but added that this had gone awry after nomination day.

       “It clearly shows that there is no understanding amongst them and they are only competing in each of their blocks to fight against BN,” he said, adding that Barisan will continue to fight back so that they can form a strong government.