Maszlee predicts Johor Bersatu losing 7 seats without non-Malay votes

Bersatu is in danger of becoming a single term party in Johor if it continues on its current trajectory against Pakatan Harapan, warned Simpang Renggam MP Maszlee Malik.

Maszlee (above) said without non-Malay support, the party is in danger of losing seven of the eight seats it won in the 14th general election, including Gambir which is held by Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

"Three of these seats will definitely lose; especially Puteri Wangsa because it is a mixed constituency which Bersatu won because of non-Malay voters who supported Harapan.

"Four more seats will either lose or have a narrow victory because of the large non-Malay demographic, including Gambir which is held by the prime minister," he said in a blog posting today.

During GE14, Puteri Wangsa, which was won by Johor Bersatu chief Mazlan Bujang, had only 39 percent Malay voters. Mazlan won with a 24,959 vote-majority.

Meanwhile, Gambir has 60 percent Malay voters as of 2018. Muhyiddin (photo) won the state seat back then with a 3,088 vote-majority.

However, if BN and PAS votes were combined, Muhyiddin's majority would slim down to 1,282 votes.

Maszlee believed that the only relatively safe seat for Johor Bersatu would be Bukit Kepong, which is held by former menteri besar Sahruddin Jamal.

Sahruddin won the 69 percent Malay seat after bagging 11,655 votes with a 1,273 vote-majority. However, BN and PAS combined have 12,153, which is 488 more votes than Bersatu.

Maszlee posited that based on voter turnout and Bersatu's share of the popular vote in Johor (49.4 percent), Malay support for Bersatu during the 14th general election was only at 29.6 percent.

Almost half of these Malay votes, he said, were Umno supporters who backed Bersatu to fight corruption, while others voted because of Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

If these supporters are taken out of the equation, Maszlee claimed Johor Bersatu would only be left with nine percent of the popular vote.

If Johor Bersatu were to go against both Umno and Harapan, he said, it's likely that they would lose all their election deposits.

With such a weak position, Maszlee questioned how Bersatu can negotiate to contest more seats if it contests under the Perikatan Nasional banner with Umno and PAS, what more to contribute to the coalition.

"If they continue with PN, Bersatu will be recorded in the history books as a single term party in Johor," he said.

He added that under PN, Johor Bersatu will have to settle for being under Umno's shadow.

He questioned whether this is what Johor Bersatu members, or the voters who elected them wanted.

Bersatu had contested 17 state seats in Johor during GE14. In addition to the eight seats they won, the party later secured three additional seats after Umno-elected representatives defected.

In February, Bersatu quit Harapan and formed a new PN government in Johor, with Umno now taking the helm. - Mkini