In mixed seat Permas, Amanah touts Chinese candidate, but Teo focuses on service

 

JOHOR POLLS | Permas candidate Sharon Teo has been in the limelight recently for being a non-Muslim candidate fielded by reformist Islamic party Amanah.

It's a fact that even the party’s leadership appeared keen to lean into, as evidenced during a ceramah on Saturday night next to a Chinese restaurant in Masai.

There, Amanah president Mohamad Sabu and deputy president Mujahid Yusof Rawa played up the decision to field Teo as a bold move by the party.

Although Amanah is open to non-Muslims and non-Malays, this is only the second time the party has put forth a Chinese candidate.

Permas is a mixed seat with only around 53 percent Malay voters, while more than 27 percent of Permas voters are Chinese, over half of whom are above the age of 40.

While BN won the seat in the last state election amid poor turnout, an analysis of data from electiondata.my showed that had the state polls been held together with the 15th general election in November 2022 - Pakatan Harapan would have won the seat with an 11.3 percentage point lead over runner-up Perikatan Nasional.

Turnout this time around is expected to be lower than GE15, albeit not as low as the last state election - where Covid-19 was a major hindrance - which means BN's hold on the seat is not secure.

Race not as big an issue

With Permas a multicornered fight and lower turnout taken into account, securing the non-Malay vote will be crucial if Harapan wants a chance at winning this time around.

However, Permas voters Malaysiakini spoke to at the You Yee restaurant indicated that race wasn’t as big an issue as Amanah leaders are making it out to be.

“Not racist! We are Malaysians; we are together. (Fielding a Chinese) is good, multiracial, but we are not racist. We will always support Harapan,” a Chinese man in his early 50s who wished to only be known as Ruby told Malaysiakini.

A few tables away, a family of three expressed similar sentiments that the Chinese voters in Permas were loyal to Harapan.

Likewise for Teo, the key to winning isn’t race, but service.

“Why should people vote for me? I already know the issues here. Most important is infrastructure, bad road conditions and traffic,” she told reporters on Saturday night, while closely watched by Mujahid.

“People complain to me about potholes. Repairs are temporary, and after heavy rain, the problem reappears,” she said.

Banking on experience as minister’s ex-aide

The Johor Amanah Young Women’s chief is also playing up her experience as a former aide to the late Amanah deputy president Salahuddin Ayub, who served as Pulai MP until his death in 2023.

Amanah president Mohamad Sabu (left) and Sharon Teo, the party’s candidate for Permas

While her candidacy appears not to be an issue for Harapan supporters, sentiments are not the same within Amanah.

The party’s decision to field Teo had upset the Pasir Gudang Amanah division, which wanted their division chief to contest Permas instead. They have threatened to boycott Teo at the polls.

Mujahid, however, downplayed concerns about the strength of Amanah’s local machinery, citing support from members from other states.

“There is no issue about Amanah having no machinery. I am here; we have members from various divisions to help,” he told Malaysiakini on Saturday.

Why exactly the party picked Teo, however, is also unclear.

When asked why she agreed to accept Amanah’s nomination, Teo told Malaysiakini: “I would rather not answer that now.”

An initial attempt to ask her the same question, in the presence of Mujahid, also failed, with the former minister whisking her away to meet more voters.

The tight-lipped response appears to be a pattern, where Teo does not share many details. In a video introducing herself, the Kota Tinggi native said she is used to being behind the scenes and that one of her weaknesses is not sharing her work on social media.

That video focuses primarily on her time working with the late Salahuddin. She does not say why she joined Amanah in 2018, other than stating that the party is multiracial.

Meanwhile, internal challenges are not the only problem the Harapan candidate has to contend with.

Fight for Permas

Permas is one of the 15 seats where PKR-splinter group Bersama is looking to make a splash in.

The kancil party is fielding former PKR candidate Dr Zamil Najwah Arbain. He previously contested unsuccessfully for the Larkin seat in 2022.

If Bersama makes significant inroads in Permas, it could drag down Teo and threaten Harapan’s chances at capturing the seat.

Teo and Zamil are also facing BN’s incumbent Baharudin Taib and PN’s T Vela. - Mkini