Please vote, Maszlee pleads as BN mulls heavyweight for Simpang Renggam

Simpang Renggam could become a potential hot seat with speculation rife that BN may field either Umno secretary-general Ahmad Maslan or former Johor menteri besar Hasni Mohammad to retake the seat it lost in 2018.

Facing the possibility of clashing with BN heavyweights, incumbent MP Maszlee Malik - who lost when competing for a state seat in the constituency earlier this year - is hoping for a better voter turnout this time.

During the Johor state election, Maszlee lost in Layang-Layang to BN's Abd Mutalip Abd Rahim by 2,815 votes.

While there was an increase in eligible voters thanks to automatic voter registration and Undi18, there were about 6,000 fewer votes in the seat during March's state polls than during the 14th general election.

Speaking to reporters today, Maszlee attributed the poor turnout at the time to multiple factors, such as the threat of Covid-19, and Chinese voters living outstation not keen on coming back so soon after the Lunar New Year celebration.

He hopes such voters would come back for GE15 and make a difference.

"Please come back to vote, this is to determine the future of your children, the country, and the education of our grandchildren.

"If we don't return (to vote) we will be relinquishing this country to those who are irresponsible as in the past," he said.

Maszlee won in Simpang Renggam in 2018 on a Bersatu ticket with 50.6 percent of the vote.

The former education minister left Bersatu after the Sheraton Move and is now a PKR member.

He contested as a PKR candidate during the March state election and was rumoured to be Pakatan Harapan's candidate for menteri besar.

Asked about the possibility of facing a BN heavyweight, Maszlee said it was a party's democratic right to field a candidate of their choice.

Besides BN, Maszlee is also expected to face Gerakan's Liang Teck Meng - representing Perikatan Nasional.

Liang held the Simpang Renggam seat from 2008 until 2018.

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