Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman is appealing to Johoreans to continue the way of moderation as he struggles against the Chinese wave of support for DAP’s Lim Kit Siang.

DATUK Abdul Ghani Othman was running late and the Bollywood concert at the mini stadium in Gelang Patah was going full blast when his white MPV finally drew up.

He emerged looking rather calm and collected considering that this was his 10th stop for the day and given the high stakes involved in Gelang Patah.

His son Jamil, a handsomer version of himself, and his pretty and petite daughter-in-law Daryl were campaigning with him. All three were wearing shirts printed with Ghani’s face, smiling that famous smile with the gap between his two front teeth.

Life has not been the same for the outgoing Mentri Besar since the fight for Gelang Patah began. Or, as his campaign team tells people, the way of life in Johor may not be the same again if Ghani loses to DAP’s Lim Kit Siang.

Ghani’s open letter to voters in Johor is out today. It is a heartfelt message to Johoreans, explaining why he is standing up for moderation or what is known as the “Johor Way” and appealing to Johoreans to continue the journey with him.

Ghani is one of the most moderate leaders in Umno and his message of moderation is in keeping with his 18-year track record as Mentri Besar.

“That’s how many see it. Rejecting Ghani in Gelang Patah is like rejecting the culture of moderation that is associated with Johor politics,” said Fui Soong of the think-tank CENSE.

By now it is evident that the Chinese mood in Gelang Patah and a number of other Chinese-majority constituencies in Johor is not with Barisan Nasional. Apart from Gelang Patah, two Chinese-majority seats, Kluang and Kulai, have turned a darker shade of grey for Barisan.

DAP has been running a dynamic and aggressive campaign. There are ceramah going on every night and on Wednesday evening, there were even two simultaneous ceramah, both packed with thousands of people.

The same evening, the biggest convoy of DAP cars that Gelang Patah has seen since the campaign started snaked through the town. The cars were all white in colour, plastered with posters of DAP candidates and flying the party flag.

They were orderly but it was evident they were out to show that they have the upper hand in this election. They intend to win and the voters had better come along with them.

DAP is not holding anything back this time around. Some of the locals find it hau lian or arrogant but as one Johor-based journalist noted, the DAP campaign has become more than just about taking over Johor or winning Gelang Patah.

“It is about saving Kit Siang from extinction. They are going all out because they cannot let Kit Siang lose,” said the journalist.

The crowds cannot seem to get enough of DAP ceramah even though the speakers say more or less the same thing night after night. The audience is almost entirely Chinese because Mandarin is the lingua franca at these events.

All of this has left the Malays and those in Umno stunned, hurt and angry.

They cannot understand how the Chinese voters can take the side of Lim, whom they see as someone who is not committed to any single seat or state over a man who has spent his entire political life serving Johor.

The Chinese regard Lim as a Chinese hero who has fought for their interests, but the Malays see him as an ultra Chinese and associate him with the politics of 1969.

It is understood that Ghani has restrained Umno from the same sort of extroverted campaigning being done by DAP. He knows that misunderstandings can happen if both sides go all out in a show of force.

It takes two sticks to start a fire and he is trying to keep the temperature down.

People have taken sides and some of them have become emotional about their political stances. For instance, in several coffeeshops in Kampung Gelang Patah, customers can no longer say anything critical about DAP or Pakatan Rakyat without getting a hostile reaction.

Yet, this Chinese village has a beautiful temple rebuilt with funds that MCA division chief Jason Teoh helped to raise. Teoh also provided funds for free tuition to students in the area during the last 10 years.

But some of the parents of those students have told him: “Sorry, we cannot support Barisan this time.” It is as though everything that Barisan has done in Gelang Patah does not count for anything. A few days ago, Teoh’s sister, who has vocal views, had red paint thrown at her house.

However, the exuberant Chinese support for Lim has had a reverse effect on the Malay voters. Malay seats that were grey for Umno are turning lighter.

Lim’s campaign team has not been able to access some Malay areas.

There is a video on YouTube showing how Lim and the DAP team were asked to leave when they tried to campaign in a Malay warung in Gelang Patah.

When Lim used a loud hailer to tell the traders and customers eating there that pilihanraya adalah satu demokrasi (elections are part of democracy), one of the traders used his own loud hailer to tell him baliklah, tak payahlah (go away, no need) while customers shouted “Satu Malaysia” and “Hidup Barisan”.

But PAS’ Salahuddin Ayub who is contesting in Nusajaya, one of the two state seats in Gelang Patah, was confident that he would get the support of all races. He was heartened by the Malay turnout at a ceramah featuring Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim a few nights ago.

But the pressure is telling on him. The normally smiling and pleasant Salahuddin lost his temper during a press conference when pestered about the PAS stand on hudud law.

The opinion out there is that DAP will be the big winner in Johor thanks to Lim’s Chinese appeal, but PAS and PKR may be the big loser.

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