JOHOR BHARU: Johor DAP is disappointed that Malaysia’s international borders will not be opened earlier despite the National Recovery Council proposing the 1 January date and publicly advocated for a 1 March re-opening.
Johor DAP Chairman, Liew Chin Tong said, a 1 March re-opening would allow tens of thousands of Malaysians to return home from Singapore to vote.
“I suspect the real reason of the delay in re-opening of Malaysia’s international borders is to avoid Malaysians working abroad especially in Singapore from returning home to vote,” he said at a press conference yesterday.
Liew added the announcement by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri that the borders would open on 1 April is to placate the voters as this is the main issue among Johoreans in the southern constituencies.
“Knowing this, the government is still refusing to make it easier for those who work in Singapore to return to cast their votes,” he said.
Liew also said the new Johor government must ensure when the causeway re-opens, the busy border is not going to congested with human and vehicular traffic.
“(DAP) As the new Johor State Government will do its upmost to generate decent-paying jobs through economic transformation that would attract investors – both domestic and foreign – that are committed to higher paying jobs,” he said.
Liew opined, if that is not done, nothing much would change, even after two years of great sufferings under the lockdowns and closure of borders.
A new government in Johor is the precursor to a new era in Malaysia. On Mac 12, Johoreans will decide the state government for the next five years, and along with it, the future of Malaysia.
While the oppositions continue to blame Umno-Barisan Nasional (BN) as those responsible for the ‘unnecessary’ state election without any provocation to pave way for a snap general election, many still believe the senior political party still holds advantage in the state.
Umno’s Vice President Datuk Seri Khalid Nordin said only with Umno as the dominant party that stability would restore in the state.
However, Liew stressed that in Johor, Umno has been the source of instability since 2018.
“It was Umno that caused the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government together with Bersatu and renegades from PKR. It was also Umno that caused the downfall of Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s government. It was Umno that caused Johor to go to poll now,” he said.
Liew added he admits that although PH is not perfect, but when compared with BN and Perikatan Nasional (PN) , PH is the most sincere as far as reform is concerned, and most ready to build a clean and dynamic Johor state government.
“Change and reforms can only happen if the old one-party hegemon Umno is defeated for a second time,” he said.
With only three days left before the ‘big day’, Liew said PH needs a massive peer-to-peer campaign and asks every Johorean to take part in this effort.
