COMMENT | Why Johor must reject the kleptocrats

COMMENT | The Johor state election is totally unnecessary, brought about needlessly by Umno to improve its standing in Johor and to test the waters for an early general election to consolidate its position at both the state and federal levels.

If indeed Umno wins big combined with the feel-good factor of the easing of Covid-19 restrictions, (announced perhaps a bit prematurely by the PM on Tuesday – for example, no physical distancing for prayer activities), it would be a great time to call for general elections - a year before they are due.

The excuse that the Umno’s Johor menteri besar gave was that with the death of a state assemblyman, the majority of the BN/PN coalition had been reduced to one in the 56-seat state assembly - 28 versus 27.

But it was just two previously. History has shown us that party-hopping can turn even a solid majority into a minority. This is what happened to a democratically elected government at GE14 in 2018 and why Umno/BN is back in power at the federal level and in some states too.

The public should reject a return to power by BN/Umno/PN at the polls, starting with Johor. Umno together with the traitorous Bersatu and some even more traitorous key PKR members who crossed over to Bersatu engineered the fall of the Pakatan Harapan coalition.

And Pejuang is a brainchild of the person most responsible for Harapan’s downfall who was somehow left out of the Sheraton Move but who conspired to set up a so-called...