JOHOR BAHRU, Feb 17 – Secretary-General Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan hoped Johorians can comprehend why the state election is called.

He advised them not to be duped by what the opponents described it as being reflective of Barisan Nasional’s greed for power.

He said they should understand the reasons behind the dissolution of the State Assembly that the number of seats by the ruling party is almost equal to that of the Opposition.

“Naratively, we had 28 seats compared to 27 of the Opposition but when we added the Speaker’s seat from Amanah, it was 28-28.

“That made us in a hung position, and what if the Speaker was replaced by his deputy from DAP? It put us in a limbo situation.

“How to administer the state in such a situation? I hope the people in Johor understand why the election is the answer,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Pontian MP said there was a momentum indicating the people want BN to return to power in the state. It was based on his visits to monitor Umno’s preparation.

“I have gone to 21 Parliamentary constituents and met their respective machinery, and they were in full zest for victory. However, I told them to continue their hard work with assistance from other states,” he said.

“Saya sudah pergi 21 kawasan Parlimen daripada 26 dan bertemu dengan jentera UMNO dan apa yang saya dapati bahawa semangat jentera untuk mengembalikan BN memerintah neger Johor ini sangat tinggi dan mereka ada keyakinan.