The Malaysian Insight

UMNO remains the party of choice for rural Malay voters as the state goes to the polls tomorrow. 

However, voters in semi-urban areas told The Malaysian Insight that they were open to voting for Perikatan Nasional (PN) whose component parties comprise Bersatu, PAS, and Gerakan.

Kukup voter, Aris Azam, 62, said BN was the only coalition that could be expected to bring development and economic progress to the state. 

“Only BN can bring development (here), while Umno is also the only Malay party that can be trusted,” said the father of three.

The Kukup state assembly seat is one of the 18 rural seats won by BN in the 14^th general election (GE14). The Umno candidate has never lost in Kukup since the seat was first contested in 1974.

In the last general election, BN won 19 of the 56 Johor state seats – 18 of them in rural areas through Umno (17) and MIC (2).

The only non-rural seat BN had won was Parit Raja, which is located in the Batu Pahat parliamentary constituency.

Aris believes that for the elections, the BN campaign with the slogan “stability for prosperity” can bring benefit to the local economy, which is gloomy during this time.

The closure of the country’s border has had a direct impact on the economy in Kukup, which is the gateway between Malaysia and Indonesia.

The area, which has plenty of fresh seafood to offer, is also a favourite destination for Singaporeans to spend their weekends.

Kukup also has large swathes of oil palm plantations.

Aris, who works in Singapore, said business is no longer as vibrant as it used to be because the country’s borders are closed. 

“That’s why only BN can bring development,” he said. 

Aris also said that PN chairman Muhyiddin Yassin should work hard if it wants to convince voters of the advantages it has over BN.

“Muhyiddin should meet the local community and explain what PN can do for Kukup,” he said.

He said the excellent service rendered by BN-elected representatives has allowed the coalition to maintain its dominance despite its leaders being ensnared in various scandals.

In Pekan Peradin, in the Kukup area, Ahmad Rupawah who works as a lorry driver is very fond of Tanjung Piai MP, Wee Jeck Seng.

Although Wee is an MCA lawmaker, voters like Ahmad, 54, do not feel marginalised because of the services he provides across the racial divide. 

“BN is popular in Tanjung Piai because of Wee Jeck Seng. He always solves people’s problems. If he is busy, his assistants will come down to help the people,” he said. 

Ahmad said that he also had the opportunity to perform the umrah on March 21, which was sponsored by Wee.

Wee is no stranger to local voters as he served as a member of Parliament for two terms in GE12 and GE13 before losing in GE14.

The former Pekan Nanas assemblyman then returned to recapture Tanjung Piai from Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate Karmaine Sardini in the 2018 by-election.

Ahmad also said that he only knew about the existence of PN because of its chairman, Muhyiddin, is the former prime minister.

“I’m not sure if people will vote for PN or not. I am also not interested in Pejuang and PKR, only if PKR gives me a free T-shirt, I will take it,” he said.

In Felda Ayer Hitam, which is located about 100km from Kukup, the same sentiments were felt by retired civil servant Rozana Ishak.

Rozana, 50, who hails from Simpang Renggam, finds it difficult to choose the opposition because she saw PH failing to fulfil its promises during its 22 months in administration.

She said a party that is able to provide stability is a priority for her. 

“So, many empty promises by PH, so we are back to BN. 

“However, these new parties we see here are just to enliven the elections. It’s good that there are many new parties but can they govern?” she asked.

Felda Ayer Hitam has about 2,700 residents located under the Machap state constituency, which is one of the two state constituencies in the Simpang Renggam parliamentary constituency.

Like Kukup, the Machap rural seat was won by BN in GE14 even though the Simpang Renggam parliamentary seat fell into the hands of PH, through its Bersatu candidate, Maszlee Malik at the time.

BN has managed to maintain its dominance for four terms in Machap since it first contested the seat in 2004.

The semi-urban Malay voters, however, are more open towards PN due to the Muhyiddin factor, which attracted their attention because he had been the prime minister.

Moreover, during the PN administration for 17 months, Muhyiddin provided a lot of cash assistance during the movement-control order (MCO) period.

A voter in the Bekok state constituency, Mohd Fazham Rahmat, said he found it difficult to accept Umno and BN due to the scandal surrounding the party’s leadership.

Fazham, 38, who used to work as a professional welder abroad, rejected BN because of scandals involving its leaders such as Najib Razak and Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

“Compared to Najib, Muhyiddin is better. Umno cannot be saved as long as its leaders are not changed. Umno is bad,” he said.

Fazham, who was angry with the 1MDB scandal involving Najib, was one among Umno members who campaigned for Bersatu and PH during GE14.

The Bekok seat in the Labis parliamentary constituency is one of the 23 semi-urban seats won by PH in GE14. DAP has held the Chinese-majority seat since GE13.

Khairul Amirul Haris, 19, a first-time voter from the Bekok state constituency, thinks that PN has a chance in the elections this time.

The first semester law student at a private college said Muhyiddin and PN administration had previously placed focus on the welfare of the people.

“PN has a chance to win. We can see during MCO, there was help and the people evaluate all these,” he said. 

A total of 239 candidates will contest 56 seats in the elections tomorrow.

Early voting on Tuesday saw a high turnout of 87%. – March 11, 2022.