The Malaysian Insight

APART from the price of chicken and how border closures have killed many businesses in southern Johor, there are few issues that everyone agrees on.

While Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional (BN) supporters are united in calling former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin a traitor to both their parties, Perikatan Nasional (PN) hails the Bersatu president as a saviour and hero.

But what is interesting is how a pact that lacks grassroots, machinery and even good local candidates appears to be gaining ground among urban Malay voters.

“Muhyiddin was a good prime minister,” said retired civil servant Nasir Mohd at Medan Niaga Kg Melayu Majidee.

Despite Muhyiddin’s role in causing the collapse of the PH governments in Putrajaya and Johor, or the heavily criticised political emergency last year, Nasir said the government had given cash handouts and allowed EPF withdrawals to help Malaysians affected by the lockdowns.

“I may have been a BN voter in the past but I’m willing to give PN a chance,” said Nasir as he watched Muhyiddin and Larkin candidate Zulkifli Bujang take a break at the food court after visiting all the stalls there.

He said that Muhyiddin’s short-lived tenure had been good despite the prolonged lockdowns, the mishandling of the pandemic after the Sabah elections or Bersatu’s subsequent breakdown with BN.

And as for Bersatu’s “betrayal”, the 62-year-old said: “I think they have their own reasons.”

“I only don’t like DAP as they always talk about racial issues. DAP has good elected representatives but they talk too much about race matters.”

Provisions store owner Zul Hakim Ahmad shared Nasir’s sentiments about Muhyiddin being a good prime minister.

“He gave people a lot of aid during the movement control orders in 2020 and 2021. If not for that, many including myself would have suffered,” said Zul Hakim as he watched Muhyiddin leave.

Like many Johor folk, Zul Hakim had lost his job at a factory in Pasir Gudang last year. But he said that he was “lucky” as he inherited the provisions store from his father last year.

“It’s not easy as I make just enough to ‘roll’ the money to keep business going, but this is still something,” said the 26-year-old.

When asked about the elections, Zul Hakim confessed that he had never voted before.

“But I was told that I’m already registered. I just haven’t gone to check where my voting station is.”

In any case, Zul Hakim said he has not decided on whether to vote.

“And if I do, I know it’s not Muda or the others,” said the young man.

The other parties are just not as attractive as Muhyiddin’s, said Zul Hakim.

Besides Zulkifli, the Larkin seat is being contested by PH, BN, Muda, Pejuang and an independent.

Fielding a Bersatu candidate, PH had won Larkin in 2018 with a margin of 8,590 votes despite the seat being a traditional BN one.

Prior to 2018, BN had won Larkin (formerly known as Tg Puteri) three times from 2004 to 2018. The seat is one of the few Malay-majority seats in southern Johor with 64% Malays, 30% Chinese and 6% Indians among the 55,858 registered voters in 2018.

But following the Undi18 and automatic voter registration exercise in January, Larkin now has more than 76,000 voters.

Like Nasir, Burhanuddin Ahmad and his family were having breakfast at Medan Niaga when Muhyiddin began his walkabout.

Although he did not rush to see Muhyiddin, Burhanuddin praised the Pagoh MP for the various handouts.

“I have no issues with Muhyiddin and PN,” when asked what he thought of former prime minister Najib Razak’s verbal spat with the Bersatu president.

“I only know that Muhyiddin was good, and even though I don’t know who the candidate is, I think they deserve a chance,” said the 52-year-old private sector employee.

Interestingly, Burhanuddin was not aware that Bersatu and PN are the same until he was told.

Bersatu and PN have very little machinery on the ground to run their campaign. And according to former Bersatu leaders in Johor Baru, most of the divisions had closed after Bersatu quit Pakatan in 2020.

And apart from a local “guide” helping Muhyiddin, the only ones following him were either from his own group or a couple of token representatives from component party Gerakan.

But it didn’t matter to Muhyiddin, Bersatu or PN, for in Johor, PN is banking on “Abah Prihatin” (father cares) – its slogan for the Johor campaign.

And as far as neutral voters are concerned, it is working.

Just minutes before he left Medan Niaga, Burhanuddin rushed forward to take a picture of Muhyiddin.

“Abah” is a term Muhyiddin used to endear himself to Malaysians during his tenure as prime minister. – March 7, 2022.