JOHOR BAHRU, April 10 — Umno Vice President Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob wants Johor Umno to rise again and win more seats in the upcoming 15^th General Election (GE15).

He said as the birthplace of the sacred party, Johor Umno, which has always been Umno’s stronghold, needed to rise again to control the government.

"Even though currently Umno is the government in Johor, but this time (in GE15) we believe Umno will win more (seats) in Johor,” he told reporters after the state-level ‘Bangkit 15’ programme here today.

Also present were Umno vice president Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin and Johor Umno deputy chief Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed.

Johor, led by Menteri Besar Datuk Hasni Mohammad of Umno, is under the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government.

PN has 29 seats comprising Barisan Nasional with 16 seats, Bersatu (12) and PAS (one) while Pakatan Harapan has 27 seats comprising DAP (14), Amanah (six) and PKR (seven).

Ismail Sabri said several states had conducted the ‘Bangkit 15’ programme, which is the party’s machinery preparations to face the upcoming GE15, adding that Johor was the last state to organise the programme before the Ramadan month.

He said the programme would be continued in Sabah, Kelantan, Penang and Terengganu after the Aidilfitri celebration. — Bernama