Johor Polls A Repeat Of Melaka On The Cards

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While many believe the Johor elections will see a triumphant Barisan Nasional, the 700,000 young voters added to the electoral roll could still spring a surprise.PETALING JAYA: Nomination day has arrived, officially kicking off the Johor state elections, although the three main coalitions vying for power had begun their campaigning much earlier.
Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Pakatan Harapan (PH) made great efforts since early February to reach out to Johoreans, holding talks all around the state to “raise awareness” about current issues.
But Barisan Nasional (BN) will be hitting the campaign trail in high spirits following its thumping victory in Melaka last November, where PN and PH attempted and failed to form the state government on their own.
On the other hand, PH will be reeling from its heavy losses in both the Melaka and Sarawak state elections.
While BN and PN will be contesting all 56 state assembly seats, PH will be in all but six of them after DAP and Amanah made way for newcomers Muda.
One of the key factors in Melaka and even Sarawak was the low turnout of voters. Some blamed it on the pandemic while others attributed it to voters’ dissatisfaction with the opposition.
This could be repeated in Johor. The opposition looks more fractured than ever with PKR deciding to contest under its own banner, while the entrance of Pejuang, Warisan and Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) is set to draw votes that might have gone to PH.
Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman’s Muda, with its six seats from Amanah and DAP, has also failed to come to a complete consensus with PKR, with the two set to clash in at least one seat, Larkin.
Yet all these parties, save for PBM, have somehow found common ground in one thing – opposing BN.
One of the key messages that BN’s rivals have stressed in their anti-BN campaign is that the Johor elections are aimed at setting free the “court cluster” of Umno leaders facing criminal charges.
BN has made stability — both political and economic — among its core messages, pointing to the disunity in the opposition and PH’s tumultuous 22 months in the federal and state governments.
But PH says BN itself does not have a stellar track record, pointing to the weak management of the pandemic and economy under the Muhyiddin Yassin and Ismail Sabri Yaakob administrations, which included ministers from the coalition.
Even the Crown Prince of Johor, Tunku Ismail Sultan Ibrahim, has weighed in on the state’s economy, saying Johor had the highest investments among other states from 2016 to 2018, before it started to dwindle.
PH formed the state government in 2018 after it won the 14th general election (GE14) in May that year.
There are many firsts in the Johor elections, from Muda, Pejuang and PBM making their maiden election outings, and Warisan’s first contest in the peninsula. But most notably, it will be the first time that 18- to 20-year-olds will be casting their ballots.
BN deputy chairman and election director Mohamad Hasan had said that young voters should be a concern for all parties as there was no indication about how they would vote.
Still, many observers believe the outcome will be a repeat of the Melaka polls and that BN will trounce PH and PN, although the young voters could yet spring a surprise.
With over 700,000 voters added to the electoral roll, this group could have a huge say on the outcome, even if they were to opt against going out to vote. - FMT

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