‘Court cluster’ tale won’t work in Johor, says analyst

 

An analyst said the momentum gained from Barisan Nasional’s victory in the Melaka polls would be carried forward to the Johor elections.

PETALING JAYA: The “court cluster” tale by Umno rivals may not be enough to persuade voters to stay away from the party in the upcoming Johor state elections, says an analyst.

Noor Nirwandy Mat Noordin, an analyst at the Centre for Media and Information Warfare Studies, Universiti Teknologi Mara, said this excuse did not benefit Umno’s rivals in the Melaka state elections.

On the other hand, Barisan Nasional went on to win 21 of the 28 state seats contested.

“That tactic proved to be a failure,” he told FMT.

The “court cluster” refers to Umno leaders who are facing various charges in court. Their opponents claim a favourable outcome in the polls may affect how these trials proceed and that they had triggered the snap polls in Johor for this purpose.

Nirwandy felt that Umno had the potential to win the Johor state elections even with a low turnout if the party’s grassroots gave it full support.

He predicted that Umno would be able to maintain the huge momentum it gained from the Melaka polls when facing the voters in Johor.

The Election Commission will meet on Feb 9 to fix the polling date, which has to be before March 23.

Nirwandy said voters, who were undecided on who to support, may give Umno the opportunity to prove itself again.

He also said some sections of the community had lost interest in politics, only hoping that the economy would fully recover from the effects of the Covid-19 pandemic. - FMT