Hard to tell who young voters will root for in Johor polls, analyst says

 

Universiti Malaya’s Awang Azman Pawi says parties competing in the Johor elections must step up their efforts to woo young voters.

PETALING JAYA: An analyst has said it is difficult to predict who young voters will be supporting in the upcoming Johor elections.

The polls, which must be held by March 23, will be the first to have 18-year-olds as voters, following the successful implementation of Undi18.

Awang Azman Pawi of Universiti Malaya said the presence of the young voters, and others voting for the first time, would pose a challenge not only for Umno, but the other parties as well, as it would be hard to predict their mood.

He told FMT the competing parties needed to set up their efforts to woo the first-time voters, and allowing teachers to be actively involved in politics could boost Umno’s chances of a resounding victory.

Awang Azman Pawi.

He said this was something the party could capitalise on.

Awang Azman said based on general perception and current sentiments, Umno would win the elections. He noted that many Bersatu members were starting to leave the party following Umno’s emphatic victory in last year’s Melaka state elections.

“However, it is too early to predict as anything can happen during the campaigning period. Voter sentiment can fluctuate,” he said.

He said Umno had an advantage going into the elections as the incumbent government that controlled the political machinery and power.

He also said that Johor BN chairman Hasni Mohammad should be retained as menteri besar as his performance was an important element to attracting votes.

“There is no issue of governance with Hasni. That is why there is no move to change him as menteri besar.

“This is in contrast to the previous change of two menteris besar (during Pakatan Harapan’s governance) due to performance issues and lack of popularity,” he said.

Oh Ei Sun.

Oh Ei Sun of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs said many non-Malays were unlikely to vote due to reasons such as Covid-19 concerns, their disappointments with PH over its signing of the memorandum of understanding with the government, and the problems faced by Johoreans in Singapore to return to vote.

“Umno will need to continue to depress those who won’t come out to vote as they were previously PH supporters,” he told FMT.

He said BN would win and the only question was by how many seats.

Observers expect the results to have a strong bearing on the timing of GE15, as a big win could spur Umno to push for a snap election before July 2023 when polls must be held.

The Election Commission will meet today to decide on the nomination and polling dates for the Johor elections. - FMT