Former Umno leader Puad Zarkashi has urged voters in Rengit not to support Barisan Nasional (BN) in the July 11 state election until two longstanding issues affecting the constituency are resolved by the Johor government.
Puad, who served as the Rengit assemblyman from March 2022 until the Johor state assembly was dissolved earlier this month, said the constituency continues to face persistent water supply disruptions and repeated flooding caused by the collapse of a water retention bund in Kampung Berong Laut.
Criticism over delayed action
Puad said he had repeatedly asked Menteri Besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi to visit Rengit to assess the situation personally, arguing that such a visit would have encouraged government agencies to speed up efforts to address the problems.
He claimed the menteri besar had instead focused more on urban areas, including Skudai, whose former assemblyman was Marina Ibrahim from DAP.
According to Puad, the location and funding for a new water tank had already been approved, but the appointment of contractors had been repeatedly delayed.
Voters urged to make issues an election condition
Puad also questioned the state’s handling of the collapsed water retention bund, saying he had personally visited the site 25 times while the menteri besar had yet to inspect it.
He called on Rengit voters to make the resolution of the constituency’s water supply and flood mitigation issues a condition before supporting BN at the polls.
“I ask voters in Rengit to hold off casting their ballots for BN until these two major issues are resolved. Make that a condition for your vote,” he said.
Puad resigned from Umno last week, saying he could no longer remain silent over what he described as Johor Umno’s lack of autonomy in decision-making.
