JOHOR POLLS | The youth-led Muda has challenged conventional political strategies by fielding candidates who do not fit the local demography, stressing that it is the service of their candidate that matters and not their race or religion.
An example was its decision to field 23-year-old lawyer R Sangaran in Machap when no other political party, be it in the government or opposition, has ever fielded a non-Malay in the constituency.
Muda president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman had defended the strategy, stating: “I wish to reiterate that Muda is a multiracial party that focuses on values and service regardless of whether they are Malay, Chinese or Indian. As long as they wish to serve, they should be given the opportunity.”
Machap has always voted Umno, even in the last general election when there was a strong anti-establishment sentiment.
Many voters who Malaysiakini spoke to expressed reservations about Muda due to unfamiliarity while some outright said they are less likely to consider a candidate who is not a Malay-Muslim.
It was a reflection of the challenges Muda is facing in translating its idealism into real change on the ground.
Hanifah Mohamad, a 65-year-old grocery store owner, said he had yet to make up his mind who to support but made it very clear that he wants a Muslim leader as his representative.
The father of four said he likes Muda and its aspiration but had reservations about supporting Sangaran.
“I am also asking for opinions from people around me on whom shall I support in this election, whether I want to go for BN, (former premier Dr) Mahathir Mohamad's party (Pejuang), or what.
“But, whatever it is, I would prefer a Malay-Muslim representative. I’d like to see young people become leaders, but I would prefer to throw my support behind a Muslim leader,” he added.
According to Hanifah, he might go for Perikatan Nasional (PN) this time around as he sees the coalition as an alternative to BN which he no longer supports.
Meanwhile, a taxi driver in his 60s who only gave his name as Hassan, parroted the oft-repeated Umno narrative that “other races” had become more vocal after the 2018 general election.
Such views were more prevalent among the older generation.
Older voters more motivated
Following the implementation of the automatic voter registration system and the lowering of the voting age from 21 to 18, voters aged 39 and lower now outnumber those aged 40 and above.
However, older voters are the ones traditionally more motivated to vote. There is no guarantee that many of the younger voters, who previously did not bother to register as one, are prepared to vote in this election.
Other older voters also view Muda with scepticism, subscribing to the idea that experience is an important factor.
“They are very new. It’s hard for me to give them my vote,” said 65-year-old Adam Atan.
Retiree Daud Siraj, 60, echoed this, stating that he liked seeing young people involved in the democratic process but added that Muda is still untested.
He also expressed reservation about supporting a party other than Umno, citing that he had hoped to see a positive change in 2018 but this was dashed by what he described as “mistakes” made by Pakatan Harapan.
Some younger local voters also have similar reservations due to their unfamiliarity with Muda.
“I am not really confident, I'm not sure if the candidate can perform well or otherwise,” a 25-year-old mechanic who gave his name as Chong told Malaysiakini.
A 32-year-old mother of two, who only gave her name as Imah, said she can count on BN to help the locals and has no need for Muda.
“Muda is only for the young right? BN will help everyone. And it already has a proven track record of helping the people,” the shop assistant said.
She had voted for Bersatu in the last general election but plans to switch to BN.
Taking a chance
Others, however, are willing to take a chance.
A 48-year-old mobile phone shop owner in Simpang Renggam, who gave her name as Tey, said that young people might be able to bring new ideas in administration.
“I think we should delegate the work to the young people, it would be good because they have a different way of thinking.
“We give them a chance, so we can see. They are also intelligent. If we keep the old people, the way (they do things) will also be the old way, which we also respect,” she added.
Ong Chong Lee, 70, said he was also prepared to give Muda a chance as he had encountered them.
“I have seen how they did their work before this, so in my opinion, they can get the support,” he added.
The Machap state seat is seeing a four-cornered fight between BN's Onn Hafiz Ghazi, PN's Azlisham Azahar, Pejuang's Shahruddin Md Salleh, and Sangaran.
It is one of two state seats within the Simpang Renggam parliamentary constituency of which PKR's Maszlee Malik is the MP.
The other state seat is Layang-Layang where Maszlee will also be contesting in this state election.
Even though Harapan won Simpang Renggam in the last general election, it lost both state seats within the parliamentary seat.
This suggested that voters had voted for BN at the state level but went for the opposition at the federal level.
Machap comprises 65 percent Malay, 30 percent Chinese and 5 percent Indians.
Johoreans will go to the polls on March 12. - Mkini
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