KLUANG: There is no such thing as a Malay tsunami in Johor in the next general election, said Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin.
He said the purported Malay tsunami is just a ploy by the opposition, especially DAP, to retain Chinese votes and at the same time to woo the Malays vote.
"That is all rubbish. The Malay tsunami is just a political gimmick used by the opposition to swing support their way.
"The fact is, the opposition does not have a plan for Johor. They do not have a plan for the economic development, the Malay development, Islamic education or Chinese and Tamil schools in Johor, as they are only interested in gaining power," said Khaled, who is also Johor Umno liaison committee chairman.
He said Umno is confident that the people in Johor will continue to support the government because they also support the plans and aspirations that the government have outlined for them.
The Menteri Besar was speaking to the media after presenting land titles to 607 recipients from Felda Ulu Penggeli, Kampung Seri Cahaya and Kampung Ilham in Sembrong here.
Khaled said the state government had approved a RM4 million allocation for the maintenance of roads in Felda settlements in Sembrong.
The event was also attended by Defence Minister and Sembrong MP Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein, and state secretary Datuk Azmi Rohani.
Hishammuddin said such gimmicks would not work because the voters know who have been taking care of them all this time.
"This is all a trick by the opposition because they are aiming to take over Johor. However, people at the grassroots would know because they can see for themselves what the current government has been doing for them.
"They would be able to judge whether what the opposition are saying are true or not," said Hishammuddin.
He said the opposition have been claiming that Umno is divided and is trying to create friction among Umno leaders in Johor.
"If all the claims made by the opposition are true, the Menteri Besar and I would be the first to know. The fact is, my relationship with Khaled is very good," said Hishammuddin.
The term Malay tsunami has been in much use since January when DAP central executive committee member Liew Chin Tong predicted the mood among Malay voters at that time.
Liew was later quoted by Sin Chew Jit Poh during a seminar in Kuala Lumpur.
Soon, other leaders such as Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and former law minister-turned DAP member Datuk Zaid Ibrahim also favoured the term.