KUALA LUMPUR: Opposition parties should accept their defeat in the Johor state election and stop blaming it on low voter turnout or split votes, says Umno secretary-general Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan.

       He said these were merely excuses by the Opposition which was unable to accept its losses in the March 12 polls.

       "Some analysis has emerged saying that Barisan Nasional did not win the popular vote, or that low voter turnout resulted in the Opposition’s defeat," he told a press conference on this week's Umno general assembly on Monday (March 14).

       "We do not use the popular vote system. Ours is the ‘First Past The Post’ system.

       "Some tried to combine the number of votes from all Opposition parties and compare it with Barisan.

       "You cannot do that. It is not the system we practise.

       "Also, all the Opposition parties have different ideologies so you cannot combine them as one.

       "Then there are those who lament how voter turnout was low. This is a democracy, people are free to choose not to go out and vote, no one is forcing them.

       "So just accept the decision of those who went out and voted," he said.

       The recently-concluded Johor election saw Barisan winning 40 out 56 state seats, securing a two-thirds majority.

       Ahmad said the upcoming general assembly, which will be held from Wednesday to Saturday (March 16 to 19), will see Umno in a triumphant mood following its recent election success.

       "Barisan’s recent victories in the Melaka and Johor elections will provide a new source of motivation to the party.

       "The wins will colour the general assembly with a sense that Barisan and Umno have revived and have been entrusted to continue governing the country,” said Ahmad.

       Ahmad, who is Pontian MP, also said the introduction of automatic voter registration as well as Undi18 did not affect Barisan’s support as claimed.

       "In Johor, there are 720,000 first time voters of whom 170,000 are aged 18 to 20.

       "Some said this would pose a tough challenge to Barisan. But as we saw, Barisan won the election and surely a good number of those new voters supported us," he added.

       The total turnout for the Johor polls was 1,426,573 voters, or 54.92%.