AYER HITAM: Johor will become a Barisan Nasional fortress once again in the 15th General Election (GE15), says caretaker Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.

The Umno vice president, who would be defending his Bera seat, added that the sentiment for Barisan in the state was very high.

“I have received a report where Barisan will win the majority of the parliamentary seats contested throughout Johor.

“In Johor, we have the advantage as the state government is under Barisan and in terms of sentiment, it looks really good.

“We can see it clearly in the Ayer Hitam parliamentary seat where the support given to Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong is very strong and I am confident that he will win,” he added.

He also said that Johor was the first state he visited and Ayer Hitam is the first parliamentary constituency he visited in GE15 to show support for Dr Wee, who is also MCA president.

Ismail Sabri said this after meeting Ayer Hitam Barisan machinery at Komplek Balai Orang Ramai Taman Suria here on Wednesday (Nov 9).

Also present were Dr Wee, Johor Barisan chairman Datuk Seri Hasni Mohammad and Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi.

During the Johor state election in March, Barisan won 40 out of the 56 state seats while Pakatan Harapan and Muda won 10, and Perikatan Nasional won three.