Maszlee Malik, as the education minister under the short-lived Pakatan Harapan government, may not have been the most beloved political leader.
He is known as a friendly and approachable person but his stint as the education minister saw him facing constant brickbats as he struggled to deal with a portfolio that was often viewed through a divisive lens.
Maszlee was ultimately forced by then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad to resign in January 2020.
His critics, even those from his own coalition, often raised the most controversial issues he failed to handle, such as the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) and Jawi policies, but it was PSM, a party that often dealt with grassroots issues and championed the most marginalised communities, that came to his defence.
PSM deputy chairperson S Arutchelvan personally penned a letter, admitting that he had a "bad image" of Maszlee before meeting the then education minister but was later surprised how he took their issue of exploited school cleaners and security guards seriously and raised it at the highest level while constantly following up on the matter.
Arutchelvan noted that behind the highly politically-charged issues that Maszlee was unable to solve, as did his predecessors in the previous decades, he had implemented a slew of changes at the grassroots level despite dealing with a resistant bureaucracy.
While no longer in government, having been sacked from Bersatu for refusing to be complicit in bringing down the Harapan government, Maszlee has generally shied away from the national political limelight.
However, he continued his grassroots style of work in Simpang Renggam where he is the MP and is now participating in the Johor polls as a PKR candidate to contest in the Umno-held Layang-Layang, a state seat within his federal constituency.
Speaking to Malaysiakini in an interview at his constituency, Maszlee showed little interest when asked about the national political scenario or the speculation that he could be the Johor menteri besar candidate if Harapan won but spoke passionately about the grassroots efforts that his team had implemented in the last three years.
Asked if he was worried that the negative press around his tenure as the education minister would hurt his chances in the election, Maszlee said it was time to move on as the Covid-19 pandemic had completely changed the situation.
At a time of political disillusionment and when lives are being ravaged by the Covid-19 pandemic, Maszlee believes that the key to winning the people's support is not through political speeches but through direct engagement, to help people through their hardships.
"Perhaps at the national level, people in urban areas have that sentiment (disappointment towards Harapan's collapse) but if you go to other places, especially a place like Johor, at the local level there are local issues," he said.
Grassroots issues
Maszlee added that BN continued to bash the short-lived and fractious Harapan government but people in his constituency were more concerned about spiralling chicken and egg prices due to a shortage and losing their jobs during the pandemic.
"I've been with the people here from the very beginning - when we were in power, when we were no longer in power and when we faced Covid-19. We stand with them in difficult and good times," he said.
Maszlee spoke at length about enhancing reading resources in villages and free tuitions to enhance the proficiency of English among students to improve their job opportunities.
He also spoke about his plans to take advantage of the soon to be completed KTM double-tracking project that will see two stations in Simpang Rengam - namely in Rengam and Layang-Layang.
The stations, he said, can help spur domestic tourists and shed Simpang Renggam's image as a detention centre for criminals. Among others, he said this can be achieved by promoting local cuisine and places of interest, such as museums, and encouraging microbusinesses.
The local-centric issues may not resonate with outsiders, but some local voters Malaysiakini spoke to, even BN supporters, have taken notice of Maszlee.
Forty-four-year-old Awe, a Kelantanese who had moved to Johor in 1995 after marrying a Johorean, admitted that he had always voted for BN, even during the last general election.
The lorry driver who was previously a postal voter as he served in the Royal Malaysian Navy, said it was a toss-up between PKR and BN. For him, newcomers such as PN and Pejuang were out of the picture.
"Personally, even though I am in BN, for now, my preference is 75 percent towards Maszlee.
"Even though we are not very interested in Maszlee, at least he keeps in touch with the community," Awe said.
Unpopular BN replacement
Awe's preference was also in part guided by BN's change of candidate in Layang-Layang.
The incumbent is Onn Hafiz Ghazi, the great-grandson of Umno founder Onn Jaafar, who residents say has also done a lot of grassroots work to help the community.
However, Onn has been moved to contest in neighbouring Machap and Abd Mutalip Abd Rahim, who was the Layang-Layang assemblyperson from 2013 to 2018, is being brought back.
"If they weren't going to keep Onn they (BN) should have brought someone new, not someone old. He (Mutalip) was removed before but now they're bringing him back.
"What did he do here when he was the assemblyperson? Zero. For Maszlee, we always see him," said Awe.
Meanwhile, 36-year-old burger seller Bojod Azmi, who will be voting for the third time, expressed his preference for a candidate that works for the local community but kept his choice close to his chest, merely stating that it was between BN and PKR.
BN’s choice
However, he also expressed frustration at BN's choice of candidate. "Why are they bringing back an old YB?" he said.
Adlinda Zaffrina, a 36-year-old single mother of one, who works as a lab assistant, will be voting for the first time in this election but said she was traumatised by the divisions as she had friends quarrelling over political differences.
She said BN provided stability, but also took notice of Maszlee's work. She praised both BN incumbent Onn and PKR's Maszlee for their efforts during the Covid-19 pandemic.
"The first was Dato Onn and the second was Maszlee. They both sent food boxes to us," she said.
Maszlee's grassroots work may have earned him recognition but whether he can take on BN's deep local networks that have been built over decades very much depends if he can convert people like Adlinda.
Determine his future
The battle of Layang-Layang is crucial for Maszlee, as it will also determine his future as the MP for Simpang Renggam in the general election due in 2023.
Maszlee faces BN's Mutalif as well as PN's K Alagathiran and Pejuang's Ahmad Shafiq Othaman in Layang-Layang, which comprises around 54 percent Malay voters, 32 percent Chinese and 14 percent Indians.
Despite the heavy anti-establishment sentiment during the 2018 general election, BN managed to narrowly retain Layang-Layang with a 364-vote majority.
The 14-day campaign for the Johor polls kicked off last Saturday (Feb 26) and Johoreans will go to the polls on March 12. - Mkini
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