Johor, the MCA's final grave - Singapore paper

Johor will be the battleground that decides MCA's survival in Malaysian politics, Singapore's Sunday Times said today in an analysis ahead of national polls here.

The article by Teo Cheng Wee, the paper's regional correspondent based here, is part of an election series providing a snapshot of key states and issues where the race for control of Putrajaya is forecast to be fiercest.

The southern state which is Malaysia's entryway to the republic has long been a bastion for the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition, including founding member MCA, which has strong roots there securing more than half of the Chinese party's 15 parliamentary seats, he noted.

However, he said the party will be facing an uphill battle in the 13th general elections as the Pakatan Rakyat (PR) opposition pact will be concentrating its effort to sway the Chinese voters to its side, citing political analyst Ibrahim Suffian.

"The BN should continue to do well in Johor, particularly among the Malay voters, but there might be declines in urban seats and Chinese votes," Ibrahim, the director of independent research house Merdeka Center, told the paper.

"Therefore, the Johor election may well became a battle for the survival of the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA), part of the BN coalition," Teo surmised.

He noted further MCA's political death could be sealed should its foe, the largely Chinese-based DAP, strengthen its presence in Johor.

"Major inroads by the opposition Chinese-based Democratic Action Party could spell the MCA's demise," Teo said.

He noted that the Iskandar Malaysia region could prove to be a double-edged sword for both the ruling and opposition blocs.

The southern economic corridor's rapid growth have pulled in thousands of new residents, which translates into new voters, but has also driven new property prices skywards in the last two years worrying locals whom he said fear being priced out of the market.

"The BN says that these voters will be able to see how well the ruling coalition runs Johor compared with other states.

"The opposition, however, argues that these outsiders lack the traditional loyalty that Johor residents have towards their politicians," he noted.

Teo also noted an increasing number of Singaporeans own property there now, which could be turned into an election issue.

The singaporean dollar is currently worth 2.5 more then Malaysia's ringgit, providing Singaporeans greater spending power just a hop across the Causeway.

Election observers have noted that with the current gloomy global economic climate, bread-and-butter issues remain one of the top issues among voters.

The Najib administration recently doled out a whopping RM3 billion in cash handouts to benefit some 4.3 million households and 2.7 million single unmarried individuals aged 21 and above struggling to cope with the increasingly high living costs.

Under the second round of 1 Malaysia People's Aid 2.0 (BR1M 2.0) that kicked off last month, each household with a monthly income of less than RM3,000 will receive a one-off payment of RM500; while bachelors drawing a monthly salary of less than RM2,000 will get RM250.