INTERVIEW | BN could have possibly retained Johor if the state had a separate state election, said former menteri besar Khaled Nordin.

He shared this view when speaking about the coalition's crushing defeat in the 14th general election which also saw Umno losing its stronghold state to Pakatan Harapan.

Khaled said he had prior to GE14 mooted the idea of having a separate state election to BN's top leadership.

"But it was shot down... It was not agreed. In a way, there is some regret that we did not pursue (the idea)," he told Malaysiakini in an exclusive interview yesterday.

Khaled said a separate state election could have worked as part of Johor BN strategy.

In anticipation that BN would win the state election, they wanted to project a further strategy where Johor voters would elect strong representation at the federal level during the national polls.

In 2016, speculation was rife that Johor Umno leadership had pitched the idea of having a state election ahead of the GE14.

The move was said to be part of a plan to prevent Bersatu, now part of the Harapan coalition, from getting a strong footing in Johor.

Khaled, however, said he did not see the need to speak further about the plan anymore as it has been the case of "water under the bridge".

"Now we have seen the results (of GE14). There is no point of talking about it anymore," he added.

The general election results in Johor saw BN securing a total of 19 state seats. Its opponents from Harapan, which placed all candidates under the PKR banner, won 36 state seats to form the state government.

PAS, which did not belong to any coalition at the time of the polls, only won one state seat.

Meanwhile, BN won eight parliamentary seats in Johor, far behind Harapan with 18.

Heavy task in Perlis

In July, it was announced that Hasni Mohamed would replace Khaled as the Johor Umno liaison chairperson.

Khaled was instead sent to Perlis as its Umno liaison chairperson.

On his successor, Khaled said he was happy with Hasni's performance in Johor and believed that he would be able to regain the support of voters with the assistance of other non-Malay parties.

During the interview, Khaled also spoke about his new tasks as the Perlis Umno chief.

He said party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (photo) had explained that several states needed Umno vice-presidents to help tackle certain issues.

"This is just a temporary thing," he said, adding that the party might choose a local leader to hold that post once things are cleared up in their respective states.

It was understood that one of the issues that had been boggling Perlis Umno was the rift between Menteri Besar Azlan Man and former state Umno liaison chairperson Shahidan Kassim.

Asked if he had managed to reconcile the two, Khaled quipped that he did not have the magic that could solve such a big issue in just a short time.

"I believe my purpose there is not just to look into this issue. Both are experienced and veteran Umno leaders.

"And I don't believe that is purely my role as the Perlis liaison chairperson," he said.

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