‘BN will ensure stability’

Strong govt vital for economic growth, Tok mat tells voters

KUALA LUMPUR: A stable and strong government is crucial to attract investors and Barisan Nasional will ensure this, says Umno deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan.

Mohamad, Barisan’s election director, said this was shown in Johor when it managed to form a state government after the state polls in March.

“When Johor changed government (in 2018), it dropped five places in terms of investments.

“But, after the March state elections in which Barisan won a twothirds majority, I was briefed by the Mentri Besar that the state has received more than Rm60bil in investments.

“That is why I want to convince voters to elect a strong and stable government, then people will come and invest,” he told a press conference at the KL World Trade Centre here yesterday.

In September, Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi said the state had recorded Rm60.9bil in investments from January to June this year, the highest amount of investments in any state.

This was an increase of more than 800% compared with investments over the same period last year, which was Rm6.6bil.

Mohamad said investors would be deterred from investing if a country was unstable and governments kept changing.

As the campaigning passed its midway point this week, he said the election mood this time was quiet, unlike the atmosphere in previous general elections.

According to Mohamad, Malaysians at large made a political decision three years ago.

“This was translated in seven by-elections and the two state elections we won. This will be repeated on Nov 19 (polling day),” he added.

Mohamad also said youths were now in favour of Barisan and this was shown in the voting streams in Melaka and Johor polls where the coalition won big.

“I feel that youths are sending a strong message that they have given up, they refused to be cheated once again, and they want a stable government in order to secure their future,” he added.

Citing internal figures, he said he was confident Barisan would prevail in GE15.

“I came down from the war room and I looked at it (the data) myself. I’m confident that we can form the government on the night of Nov 19 or morning of Nov 20,” he declared.

Mohamad also said he gave a similar analysis during the Melaka state elections in November last year and the Johor state elections in March.

“In Melaka, 15 days before polling, I said we can win a minimum of 18 seats and we closed the numbers at 21. This time around, the same method and the same formula is being applied. We gave a lot of discounts (to our figures) and we can still cross the bridge, God willing,” he added.

Mohamad said Barisan would prevail in many seats because votes are split in three-cornered fights.

“When I say cross the bridge, many seats we already crossed 50%. In three-cornered fights, we don’t need 50% because votes are divided by three,” he added.