From Bossku To Harapan Politicians Leverage On Football Amid Johor Election

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JOHOR POLLS | Campaigning for the Johor polls may have kicked off yesterday, but many aspiring candidates were absent from the typical ceramah circuit last night.
Instead, they donned their Johor Darul Ta'zim (JDT) jerseys for a showdown between the state football team against Kuala Lumpur City FC in the Malaysia Chairy Cup, which pits the reigning Malaysia Cup champion against the previous winner.
It was a high stakes game as JDT sought redemption after being dethroned by KL City FC as the champion in 2019, and JDT's main owner, Johor crown prince Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, vowed to leave football if his team lost again.
Politicians, including non-Johoreans, were keen to show their solidarity with the state during the election season.
Even ex-prime minister and BN advisory board chairperson Najib Abdul Razak, who is a Pahang native and a Kuala Lumpur resident, donned a JDT scarf.
Several Pakatan Harapan candidates were also present at Sultan Ibrahim Stadium, in Gelang Patah, Johor to show their support.
They included Marina Ibrahim (Skudai), Liow Cai Tung (Johor Jaya), Liew Chin Tong (Perling), Maszlee Malik (Layang-layang), Suhaizan Kaiat (Pulai Sebatang), Aminolhuda Hassan (Parit Yaani) and Mohd Khuzzan Abu Bakar (Semerah).
Tunku Ismail later also met with some of the aspiring assemblypersons.
The crown prince also met with Najib, where he was presented with a jersey carrying his "Bossku' slogan bearing the figure "11", the ex-prime minister's favourite number.
Meanwhile, Perikatan Nasional and BN also leveraged the popularity of the event, either by visiting such watch parties or organising their own.
PN and BN watch parties
PN's Bukit Kepong candidate Sahruddin Jamal, who was the Johor menteri besar for 10 months until 2020, visited three watch parties in the span of two hours in the Pagoh area.
Meanwhile, PN's Johor Lama candidate Alias Rasman was at a watch party at Felda Ayer Tawar 2, while the coalition's Kukup candidate Mahathir Iskandar Mohamad was at a watch party at their election operations centre.
PN's Kota Iskandar Samsudin Ismail also attended a similar event in Johor Bahru.
Not missing out, his BN rival Pandak Ahmad organised a watch party at the Iskandar Puteri BN operation centre and put out posters advertising the event.
Johor BN also organised watch parties specific for youths, limiting them to those aged 18 to 35. One such event took place at a public hall in Tiram, in the suburbs of Johor Bahru.
Following the lowering of the voting age from 21 to 18 and the implementation of automatic voter registration, those aged 18 to 39 now form the largest bloc of voters but whether they are as motivated to vote as older electors remains to be seen.
In Johor Jaya, three such watch parties were also organised by BN, which included prizes.
Even in semi-rural areas, BN hosted a watch party in Chaah within the Bekok state seat.
JDT emerged victorious over KL City, trouncing the federal territory 3-0.
Johoreans will go to the polls on March 12 to choose the victorious coalition that will govern Johor for the next five years. - Mkini

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