Haizan Jaafar said it’s an open race and anyone can speculate or make their own prediction.

“For me, it’s still open. People can say whatever they want about whether BN will win with more than 30,000 votes or whatever,” he told FMT.

Haizan, a former Johor FA footballer who is better known as “Coach Haizan”, said the comment made by Annuar “does not affect me at all”.

Last week, Annuar, who was sacked by Umno almost two years ago, said BN would be able to secure more than 30,000 votes as the coalition had mobilised its federal and state election machinery to win the state seat.

He also cited the results of the previous state election to support his prediction.

In the March 2022 state polls, BN’s Sharifah Azizah Syed Zain won with a 5,166-vote majority over Pakatan Harapan’s Taqiuddin Cheman of Amanah, in a four-cornered fight which included candidates from PN and Warisan.

Sharifah secured 16,611 votes while Taqiuddin garnered 11,445 votes for a total of 28,056 votes, against PN’s 7,614 votes.

When asked about his chances of winning over Chinese and Indian voters, Haizan said his background in coaching might help him connect with these communities.

“I have coached Johor Indian youth football teams, and I have also coached the Chinese Kluang football team,” the Kluang Bersatu committee member said.

“That connection, I believe, can help me gain some votes from the Indian and Chinese communities.”

About his plans should he win the by-election, Haizan said: “I would help with the needs of the people in Kluang and also push for more sports development in the area.”

The Mahkota by-election will take place on Sept 28 with early voting set for Sept 24.

The BN candidate is Kluang Umno Youth chief Syed Hussien Syed Abdullah, who is representing the unity government.