JOHOR BARU: Johor Amanah has expressed disappointment over an Umno leader's criticism of the party's plans to contest in elections.
State deputy chairman, Dzulkefly Ahmad, said the party is clear about wanting to contest state and general elections.
"We are fully prepared to face the upcoming state election or GE16, either through a unified unity government front with Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional, or in a three-way contest involving PH, BN, and Perikatan Nasional (PN)," he said in a statement.
"It's puzzling why Umno feels so threatened and eager to attack Johor Amanah when our statement did not even mention any other parties," Dzulkefly.
He was referring to Johor Amanah's plans to contest between 12 and 20 seats in the next state election.
Dzulkefly did not specify who he was responding to though earlier this week,
Johor Umno secretary, Datuk Abdul Halim Suleiman lashed out at Amanah Johor over its plans to contest up to 20 seats in the next state polls.
For the record BN controls 40 of the 56 state seats in Johor. PH has 12 seats of which 10 are DAP's while PN has 3 seats. Muda has 1 seat.
Hakim had said Amanah had only won one parliamentary and one state seat in BN-controlled Johor and even then it was because of DAP's support.
He also warned Johor Amanah against being arrogant.
Dzulkefly today said Amanah has a proven track record in the state and that in the 2018 state election, had won nine eats.
He said he hopes Umno can "genuinely" collaborate with PH instead of attacking its allies and called on Umno leaders to engage them in discussions.