JOHOR BARU, March 30 ― Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi wants the Barisan Nasional (BN) to increase its electoral majority in Pulai and reclaim one of the lost state seats in the coming polls.
Zahid who is also home minister and Umno acting deputy president announced RM5.5 million in allocations for the Pulai parliamentary constituency and went on the stump at the launch of the National Anti-Drugs Agency and Trust @ Teras Johor volunteers’ gathering here last night.
He urged Pulai voters to continue supporting BN and its incumbent MP Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed.
“We want to revive the majority in Pulai and to recapture the Perling state seat as well as to increase the majority in the Kempas state seat.
“For Pulai, we had a slight drop in the last general election. At Kempas, our majority declined a bit, while we lost Perling,” he said in his speech at the Tan Sri Mohamed Rahmat Complex in Tampoi.
Perling is the new name for the state seat previously known as Pengkalan Rinting under the Election Commission’s redelineation report that was passed in the Dewan Rakyat Wednesday and gazetted yesterday, with immediate effect.
Pengkalan Rinting, which borders the Johor Bar city centre and is considered a highly developed urban seat, was created in 2003 and was held for two terms by the BN.
However, DAP's Cheo Yee How won the Pengkalan Rinting seat with a majority of 1,970 against MCA’s Chang Mei Kee in the 2013 general election.
Zahid said Nur Jazlan was an elected representative of the people who worked hard in Pulai and had given his best to its voters of different races.
He said Nur Jazlan, despite being his deputy in the Home Ministry, had not asked for any assistance but had managed to bring in RM776.4 million worth of development projects into Pulai.
Nur Jazlan was also present at the event, as was Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.
Zahid and his wife Datin Seri Hamidah Khamis were greeted by a 3,500-strong crowd when they arrived at the Tan Sri Mohamed Rahmat Complex at 8.45pm.
