Lokman Adam warns UMNO’s solo move in Johor could end in ‘disaster’

MALAYSIA: A new element has appeared in the tug-of-war between United Malays National Organisation-Barisan Nasional (UMNO-BN) and its coalition partner in the Madani government, Pakatan Harapan (PH) in Johor, and it is the real prospects of UMNO in the upcoming state election.

UMNO Supreme Council member, Lokman Adam, warned his party and BN that their move to contest solo in Johor could backfire.

According to Lokman, BN should not be too confident with past victories because the political reality in Johor has already changed.

He said the move to contest all the seats in Johor is one that comes with great risks for the UMNO-led coalition, and he is speaking out with the hope that the party can “avoid the disaster that is about to happen.”

In a video posted on his social media accounts, Lokman Adam, who is said to be close to Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and Umno leader Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, said:

“The reality is that in Johor, we do not have such a high number of Malay voters. There are only 55% Malay voters.

“And 45% non-Malay voters. In this situation, after Mahathir managed to divide the Malay people, the support of the Malay voters towards UMNO is small.”

He said this after noting that the support for Umno in Johor is stronger than in any other state in Peninsula Malaysia.

He said the performance of Umno in Johor is way higher than in other states, coupled with the investment drive and the services given by the Johor state to the people.

“To be frank, I do not deny that Johor is better than other states (for Umno). We do not deny it. The support of Malay people, especially in Johor, towards BN, is far better than in any other state in the Peninsula. We do not deny it.”

He added that Umno or BN can also attract more than 50% of the Malay votes, but the party needs the support of non-Malay voters too.

But alas, he says, the party is not realising that the non-Malay votes are not with UMNO or BN, and for him, this is a fatal mistake in the party’s calculations in Johor.

“In relation to UMNO-Johor, with various good initiatives that have been implemented, we can attract more than 50%. Let’s say 50% of the 55% of Malay voters in the state.

“Still, we need support from non-Malay people. The Chinese community, the Indian community, and others, so how is it possible for us to decide to compete alone in marginal areas where there are too many non-Malay communities, while we realise that the votes and support of non-Malay voters are not with us.”

He also said there is no denial that in Malaysia now, BN can only get 3% of Chinese votes, while only 10% of Indian voters are still with Umno-BN.

However, if the party can get a bit more than the figures he mentioned, even if it gets 30% of non-Malay votes, it is unthinkable for UMNO to win more seats than it won in the last state polls.

“In fact, to maintain it (the same momentum), is an unthinkable thing.”

Last week, Umno announced it will contest all seats in Johor, which in turn led the Pakatan Harapan in Johor to also state they will contest all seats in the next state elections.

This will pit two coalition partners in the Madani government of Anwar Ibrahim against each other, and it may have devastating consequences since the opposition PAS, with its Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition, is waiting in the wings.

After the announcement by the Johor Umno, Anwar said he is prepared to call for a national poll instead of only state polls.

He also said he will be calling on his coalition partners to sit together to decide if they will go for general elections soon.