GE14 | In Pagoh, the battle between Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin and his former disciple, Pagoh Umno deputy division chief Ismail Mohamed, is leaving voters torn.
Tucked a kilometre behind an industrial park with numerous furniture factories, near the banks of the Muar river lies the small village of Kampung Pergam.
In 2013, the village had voted overwhelmingly in support of Muhyiddin and BN, with 186 votes in favour of the ruling coalition, while PAS only bagged 30 votes. A few years later, Muhyiddin contributed funds for the renovation of the local mosque.
But now that Muhyiddin and BN have parted ways, villagers find themselves faced with a difficult choice.
"Both Muhyiddin and Ismail have done a lot for Pagoh. We feel conflicted having to make a choice," a villager who wished to be known as Atan told Malaysiakini, his friend and fellow 60-something year old Amber nodding in agreement.
Amber said he was also "50-50" on making a choice, as were many of their friends in the village.
Najib the tiebreaker
But while Atan is undecided between Muhyiddin and Ismail, there does appear to be a tiebreaker in the form of Umno president Najib Abdul Razak, whom the retiree labelled as "useless" due to his many controversies.
He also voiced objection to the GST, reiterating views of some Islamic scholars that it was ‘haram’ and that supporting Najib was tantamount to colluding with the implementation of the tax.
Similar sentiments against Najib were expressed by others, such as army veteran Mohd Nasir Abdullah, 58, who is now a staunch Muhyiddin supporter.
"We don't want to disturb Umno, but we want Najib gone," the Pagoh native and former BN supporter said when met in Bukit Gambir.
Party over candidate
But the choice between Muhyiddin and Ismail isn't so difficult for others.
"For old timers like me it’s easy, we see the dacing (scales) and we cross that... That is the good and easy choice," a Kampung Pergam villager who wished to be known as Ahmad said.
It is such sentiments that Ismail is banking on to help defeat his former master.
"I see that they still choose the party. For the people of Pagoh, when an individual is in BN we respect him, but once he leaves they will choose the party," Ismail told Malaysiakini.
Pagoh is not the only seat Muhyiddin is contesting. Across the Muar river in Ledang, the former deputy prime minister is also vying for Gambir - a state seat BN won in 2013 with just 310 votes.
Johor Bersatu secretary Othman Sapian told Malaysiakini that Muhyiddin had decided not to contest in one of Pagoh's two state seats to make way for others.
Gambir then, was deemed close enough to Pagoh that he could manage both.
"Also the Ledang MP is a caretaker deputy minister (Hamim Samuri), so Muhyiddin contesting there can help our Pakatan Harapan partners," Othman said.
Hamim is well liked in Ledang, and even some opposition supporters such as a former PAS man who wished to be known as Wak Don said he is a "good person."
The parliamentary seat of Ledang neighbours Pagoh. Ledang comprises the state seats of Gambir and Serom.
The Muhyiddin factor
Faced with a popular incumbent, PKR's candidate for Ledang, Syed Ibrahim Syed Noh, is certainly hoping that some of Muhyiddin's influence will rub off on his campaign.
"I think Muhyiddin contesting in Gambir can have an impact among the Malays, people are talking about him contesting in Gambir even though they are in Serom.
“but we still need to go to the ground and meet the people and convince them to vote for us," Syed Ibrahim told Malaysiakini.
While Harapan supporters feel capturing rural BN strongholds in Gambir – such as the village of Sagil – may be tough, Muhyiddin seems to be a popular choice in more urban areas, such as Bukit Gambir,
Trader Hamid Husnan, 60, an opposition supporter who previously voted for PAS in the last polls, said one advantage Muhyiddin has over three-term BN incumbent M Asojan is former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad's patronage.
"When Asojan fights with Muhyiddin, people will look at Muhyiddin, because they see he is under Mahathir," Hamid said.
However it is unclear if Muhyiddin's influence can extend into the neighbouring state seats under Ledang, especially semi-rural Serom.
One Umno veteran from Kesang Tasek, who declined to be named, believed that in urban areas of Serom, change can happen and that Muhyiddin will contribute to it.
"People now have had their minds opened, change can happen. People now are facing so much hardships because of the current government," he said.
'He never did anything here'
But deep in the rural heart of Serom, this is less clear.
At a coffee shop in the Kampung Serom 5 Ulu, a 10-minute drive away from the main trunk road in Serom, three staunch BN supporters vent their dislike for Muhyiddin.
"He never did anything for Ledang when he was menteri besar, it was only when Ghani Othman took over did Ledang develop," said Mohd Talha Sureb, 58.
His friend Hamzah Samsudin, 66, added that Muhyiddin had only focused his development efforts on Muar.
Serom 5 Ulu is part of the Serom 5 polling district that gave BN 295 votes and only 43 votes to PKR in 2013.
Meanwhile, in the fishing village of Kampung Teluk Kemang, villagers said Umno was the dominant political party, but they were unsure if the ruling Malay party could win the polls.
Fisherman Kadir Musa, 56, however, said that any winds of change will not be brought by Muhyiddin.
"He is influential in Pagoh, not here," Kadir said.
Kampung Teluk Kemang is part of the Kampung Pantai Layang polling district, which gave BN 398 votes, and PKR 297 in 2013.
'PAS can't win'
In both seats he is contesting, the Bersatu president will be facing PAS third contestant, namely PAS ulama chief Mahfodz Mohamed in Gambir, and his son Ahmad Nawfal in Pagoh.
PAS is the traditional challenger in much of the Malay heartland, and retains a strong core of grassroots supporters.
In Pagoh, the PAS scored 13,432 votes against Muhyiddin in 2013.
Mahfodz, meanwhile, almost won Gambir that year trailing behind BN by just 310 votes.
However, many attribute this near victory for the PAS ulama chief to support from non-Malays and other opposition parties at the time.
"When DAP did not contest here (in 2013) their supporters, the urbanites and non-Malays, voted for PAS," trader Hamid said.
One PAS supporter in Sagil, who declined to be named, was not confident of Mahfodz's chances.
"Mahfodz can put up a fight, but I don't think he can win," he said.
60 percent of Gambir voters are Malay, 37 percent Chinese, and four percent Indian. - Mkini
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