KUALA LUMPUR: As the battle between Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Harapan (PH) intensifies ahead of the Johor election, the sentiment of the southern state's Chinese voters this time around remains cloudy.
On BN's side, its adviser Datuk Seri Najib Razak recently expressed confidence that the Chinese vote is returning to MCA, a component party. However, PH's DAP reportedly said the claim was a "manipulated script" to garner support.
Due to these conflicting views, the New Straits Times went to the ground to meet Chinese voters in urban and semi-urban state constituencies to get a better reading of the community's sentiment.
Of the 2.597 million registered voters in Johor, 36.85 per cent are Chinese.
In a coffee shop in Pekan Nanas, three "uncles" who wanted to remain anonymous, laughed out loud when asked about their choice.
"Michael" (not his real name), who helped his wife sell tofu, said for years he felt "sick" with MCA and after PH took over both the federal and state governments in 2018, he now feels the same way about DAP.
Asked if he would vote for other parties this time, Michael said his options would remain either DAP or MCA.
"This time I think I will give back (my vote) to DAP, lah. During Tanjung Piai (by-election in 2019) I voted for MCA because I thought we needed to teach DAP a little, but (the outcome) is the same. I had a stroke two years ago, so I was unable to work.
"Was there anyone from MCA or DAP who showed concern? No. Instead, my wife has to start selling tofu, and now that I feel better, I can only help her because who wants to employ a senior citizen like me?
"To be honest, I haven't decided yet who I want to vote for, because both of them (MCA and DAP) are almost the same. They both need to be taught a lesson."
His friend, "James", who is in the tiles and mosaic business, said the sentiment in the Chinese community in Pekan Nanas is 50-50. He is a staunch DAP supporter but revealed that he voted for MCA in the Tanjung Piai by-election.
When asked why he did that, James said: "I just wanted to see what it would be like if I gave my vote to MCA."
The same was echoed by "John", a carpenter who said he would probably switch his votes back and forth between DAP and MCA "just to teach them all".
A BN insider told the NST that the Umno leadership was surprised when MCA fielded "someone who lost in the previous election" in the constituency.
"They should've fielded that lawyer in Pekan Nanas, not someone who has proven he cannot win," the insider said.
In Perling, Tee Lian Teng, 44, said he voted for BN in the last three elections and would probably do the same because his friends suggested this to him.
"I don't know much about DAP. I only sit at this kopitiam and listen to my friends. But I will definitely not vote for MCA. I only like BN. I don't want rocket (DAP's symbol) and I don't want MCA, just BN," he said.
When it was pointed out to him that MCA is a component of BN, Tee was taken by surprise and said "there must be some sort of mistake".
Two Skudai voters, Na Hui Seong, 50, and Lum Khai Xian, 22, said they would "forever vote for Prime Minister Najib Bossku", saying the 1MDB allegations against the former premier were "a lie made up by the DAP".
In the Yong Peng constituency, sources in BN revealed that the state seat is considered a "grey area", despite candidate Ling Tian Soon's team expressing confidence about winning the seat with a more than 5,000-vote majority.
A local voter, Li, said he would consult his friends, family and fortune-tellers because he is torn between DAP and MCA.
While some political observers concluded that tomorrow's election results would signal who the people would choose in the 15th General Election, others pointed out that this would not be the case given that voters now have become politically literate, thanks to social media platforms.
And with such a sentiment "to teach both parties" expressed by the Chinese in Johor, it would be safe to say that no matter who the second-largest community chooses tomorrow, be it MCA or DAP, the result would not provide security to either party in their next battle in GE15. - NST
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