JOHOR BAHRU: he involvement of the Johor Menteri Besar and two former MBs in the Barisan Nasional machinery is seen as having a significant influence in ensuring the victory of Pakatan Harapan candidates in the upcoming by-elections for the Pulai parliamentary constituency and the Simpang Jeram state seat.
Although it is said that a small faction of BN grassroots may have been disheartened by the selection of the Pakatan candidates to contes both seats, the strong charisma of Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi, Datuk Seri Mohamed Khaled Nordin and Datuk Seri Hasni Mohammad as leaders in the state is believed to be capable of addressing this concern.
This move is crucial to curb the spread of support for Perikatan Nasional in the state and maintain Johor as a Barisan stronghold.
Perikatan has only one state seat in Johor, which is the Maharani constituency.
According to Universiti Malaya Academy of Malay Studies Associate Professor Dr Awang Azman Awang Pawi, Johor Barisan chairman Mohamed Khaled and Onn Hafiz have unique strengths as leaders
He said the compelling aura around Hasni, who managed to lead the Barisan machinery to help the coalition win a more than two-thirds majority during the Johor state election last March makes them a formidable force.
"Their combined strength can counter PAS’ attacks or influence. They can serve as a bulwark to voters from being swayed by PAS,” he said.
The research fellow at UM’s Centre for Democracy and Elections said even though PN has Datuk Dr Sahruddin Jamal, who is a former MB, on their side, he is not seen to have a significant influence on the voters, especially when he was replaced by Hasni less than a year from being appointed.
Dr Sahruddin, who is a doctor, gained prominence through his position as the state Health, Environment and Agriculture Committee chairman during the pollution incident of Sungai Kim Kim in Pasir Gudang that led to his appointment as MB for 10 months.
Political analyst and writer Dr G Manimaran said that Perikatan has started to lay the groundwork to establish a presence in Johor since last year’s state election by targeting young voters.
"However, in facing the Pulai and Simpang Jeram by-elections, I think the leadership of Onn Hafiz, Hasni and Mohamed Khaled will bring advantages to the unity government to curb Perikatan from taking root in Johor in these by-elections,,” he said.
He said that the three leaders could influence voters to direct their support to the alliance and defend the seats that were left vacant by the incumbent Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub who passed away on July 23.
Fellow analyst Dr Che Hamdan Che Mohd Razali said the Pakatan-Barisan alliance may have an advantage by having these three prominent figures, but the cooperation and agreement between these leaders are essential to mobilise their respective machinery in the quest to secure victories for Suhaizan Kaiat in Pulai and Nazri Abdul Rahman in Simpang Jeram.
"All these leaders have their strengths. It’s how each of them plays their role in rallying their machinery and wooing voters. They (PH and BN) must set aside their egos and forget past experiences when they were on different sides,” he said.
Johor State Legislative Assembly former speaker Suhaizan Kaiat is going up against Pulai Bersatu division deputy chief Zulkifli Jaafar and an independent candidate, Kuala Lumpur Consumer Safety Association president Samsudin Mohamad Fauzi.
In the Simpang Jeram by-election, Pakatan is fielding Bakri Amanah division deputy chief Nazri Abdul Rahman. He will be challenged by Perikatan's, Dr. Mohd Mazri Yahya, a vascular consultant and endovascular surgeon as well as an independent candidate, businessman S. Jeganathan.
The Election Commission had set the by-elections for both seats on Sept 9 and early voting on Sept 9.
According to the Election Commission data as of July 23, Pulai has 166,653 voters while Simpang Jeram has 40,379 voters. - Bernama
