Day for parties to show their mettle

 

Final checks being made by Election Commission officials yesterday for the Johor state election at one of the polling centres. -NSTP/HAIRUL ANUAR RAHIM

KUALA LUMPUR: With the campaign period for the Johor state election ending at midnight yesterday, political parties are anxiously waiting to see if their approach of contesting separately will benefit them.

On one front, Barisan Nasional (BN) has ditched its Muafakat Nasional (MN) with Pas due to the former's bitterness against Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu).

As observers have pointed out, the cooperation between BN and Perikatan Nasional (PN) could have gained them an easy two-thirds majority win.

On the opposition side, the parties competing have also failed to show a united front by competing together under the Pakatan Harapan (PH) umbrella.

Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang), the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda) and Parti Warisan (Warisan) have opted to go to the battlefield separately instead of using PH's full potential as they did in the 14th General Election (GE14).

Although PH had, on some occasions, shared the campaign platform with Muda, on the other hand, Pejuang and Warisan, appeared to be muted.

Pejuang chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad's inability to campaign due to his health condition saw him sending a few "letters to Johoreans" through social media platforms. Even so, Dr Mahathir attracted big crowds on the day he came to Johor.

Just like Pejuang, other parties opted to use their famous personalities to help with the campaign.

BN adviser Datuk Seri Najib Razak, with his famous "Bossku" tagline, continued to attract young and old crowds alike in urban and rural areas.

PH also employed a similar strategy with PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim going to the ground almost every day apart from other notable leaders such as DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng and Parti Amanah Negara president Mohamad Sabu.

Bersatu and Warisan used their respective leaders Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin's and Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal's photos to woo voters.

While Shafie's name may not carry much weight in Johor, Muhyiddin, however, possesses the ability to attract Johoreans, especially Felda settlers who are happy that the then PN-led government had reduced their debts.

For Muda, although its president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman had tried his best to stay out of the limelight since he is not competing in the polls, posters and banners printed by the party used his photos.

This is understandable given that Muda leaders, apart from Syed Saddiq, have yet to make their mark in the state and federal political scene.

This strategy of marketing big names was evident in the Melaka state election in November last year, proving that parties still needed "political celebrities" to persuade constituents to vote in their favour.

But personalities alone are not enough to ensure a win. The people of Johor are concerned about bread-and-butter issues as a majority of them have been heavily impacted by the Covid-19 pandemic.

The two key contenders — BN and PH — had offered some form of post-Covid economic development, which would ring close to the voters' hearts.

BN continues with its pledge of a stable government, which they say is crucial to improve the livelihoods of the people. The coalition has said a win for them would mean that BN's plans for the state during its nearly two-year reign could continue.

PH, meanwhile, has promised to rebuild the economy and form a clean and dignified government, once again urging the need for change and a chance to prove their mettle.

In BN's campaign trails, however, PH has been often criticised for not bringing changes during their 22-month administration, resulting in BN gaining traction among the B40 and M40 income bracket voters.

It has been clear throughout the 14-day campaign that voters care less about political scandals such as the 1Malaysia Development Bhd case, a sentiment popularly used during GE14.

This, however did not stop parties from trading barbs as they tried to convince voters that they were worthy of a mark on the ballot paper.

Analysts predict that Barisan Nasional would secure a two-thirds majority, with Umno being the "star performer".

Professor James Chin from the University of Tasmania's Asia Institute said MCA was in a "good spot" to win at least four seats, while PH and PN would have their seats drastically slashed.

"There is a lot of excitement about newcomers Muda, but I think the maximum they can win is one seat, while the rest, including Warisan and Parti Bangsa Malaysia, will get zero." - NST