Voters in Muar are very aware of issues happening at the local and national levels, said Bersatu Youth chief Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, who refuted claims that he was out of touch with constituents in the northern Johor parliamentary seat.

"It is true that I have often come down to Muar. This is because I believe Muar as a royal town and the jewel of Johor, which is the key for Pakatan Harapan to capture Putrajaya," he said in response to two-term Muar MP Razali Ibrahim, who had reportedly challenged his credibility to contest the seat.

"For your information, every time I go down to Muar, I will be asked why did the leader who we voted for continue to collude with corruption while the neighbouring leader in Pagoh has spoken up against the kleptocrats," Syed Saddiq claimed in reference to Razali (photo) and Pagoh MP Muhyiddin Yassin.

Razali, a deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, said in an interview with Sinar Harian yesterday that he welcomed Syed Saddiq's attempts to campaign and contest in Muar but also said it would take more than just analysing the statistics to win an election.

"If he (Syed Saddiq) just goes down to campaign and people like him, I can't do anything (but) I wasn't taught that way.

"We (Umno) are taught about service... I'm not stopping anyone from contesting. Go ahead. But I only hope that voters in Muar will be aware in casting their votes," Razali was quoted as saying.

Commenting further, Syed Saddiq said people in Muar have also asked him about the rising costs of living.

"They are asking me how come it has been so difficult for them to find jobs although every weekend we can see many foreign workers around Bandar Maharani," he said.

Syed Saddiq, who has been speculated as the Harapan candidate to be fielded in Muar in the forthcoming 14th general election, added that the questions from the people were proof of their awareness towards the reality happening in Johor and across the country.

"The wind of change can be felt in Muar. What I can say is that Harapan is listening to the people in Muar," he said.

In the last general election, Razali had retained his seat with 51 percent of the votes or a majority of 1,646 votes.