Najib steals the limelight in Muhyiddin’s backyard

 

Najib Razak spent Sunday morning with the Chinese community in Perling. (Najib Razak Facebook pic)

JOHOR BAHRU: Former prime minister Najib Razak kicked off Barisan Nasional’s election campaign in Johor on Saturday by going around Pagoh, the stomping grounds of his former deputy Muhyiddin Yassin.

Muhyiddin, who has opted not to defend his Gambir seat in the state elections, seems to have been overshadowed by Najib and remained relatively quiet when it came to campaigning for Perikatan Nasional over the past two days.

While Muhyiddin was in Pagoh and Muar to show his support for PN candidates and attend several events, there was an obvious lack of buzz for the Bersatu president and PN chairman. He also did not campaign for PN yesterday.

However, Najib spent Sunday morning with the Chinese community in Perling, with many seeking to snap pictures with him, despite his involvement in the 1MDB scandal.

Even on social media, Najib has remained busy with his Facebook postings, while Muhyiddin has been rather muted.

Council of Professors fellow Jeniri Amir said it was apparent that the voters were leaning towards the Umno-led coalition, pointing out that they could now judge between BN and PN’s time in power.

He told FMT the sentiments on the ground showed that Najib was the more popular figure of the two, adding that the Pekan MP was “far ahead of Muhyiddin” in that respect.

“They are able to more or less assess who’s better in governing the state, or the nation as a whole. They’ve seen how Najib and Muhyiddin performed (as prime ministers).

“While some are trying to harp on 1MDB and the court cluster, it’s just overkill. People don’t care. What matters to people now is stability and the new state government’s ability to lead Johor into a new era.

“The people are trying to be realistic. This is real politics. Facing the future, they want political stability, economic growth, job creation, all these things,” he said.

Jeniri added that Najib was clearly going to the ground with full confidence, a factor he said was key for any political leader.

However, Universiti Sains Malaysia’s Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid said Najib should not mistake BN’s rising popularity among voters as a personal acceptance or endorsement despite his corruption cases.

“Najib shouldn’t be too convinced that the people back him. Malays are returning to Umno and more non-Malays are warming up to post-GE14 BN, although the majority still support Pakatan Harapan.

“It’s not an endorsement of a corruption-tainted figure like Najib. Najib shouldn’t equate public approval of Umno and BN as a thumbs-up for him,” he told FMT.

Fauzi added that Muhyiddin has the responsibility as PN chairman and Bersatu president to campaign harder for the coalition, which he said would inject some much-needed spirit into the election machinery. - FMT