MERSING, March 9 — Johor has one of the largest Federal Land Development Authority (Felda) land schemes in the country, amounting to almost a million acres and 200,000 voters in 73 settlements.

For the longest time, Felda land schemes have always been a secure vote bank for Barisan Nasional (BN) with other parties finding it hard to penetrate the area, particularly in Johor.

"Before this it was very hard to get inside Felda. If there is a car bearing symbols other than BN, the windshield and side mirrors might get broken,” said PKR's Tanjung Surat candidate Rahman Tahir.

"Now I can get inside and campaign. I think I am the only candidate going house to house as maybe the others felt comfortable they would win.”

Rahman, who is from Kota Tinggi, said that he needed to ensure he gets the vote from the four settlements in the Adela Felda cluster which amounts to about 45 per cent of the total voters in the area.

"There are 6,224 additional from 18,890 voters in Tanjung Surat. 11,922 is from the Felda cluster alone,” he said.

Roslan will face Perikatan Nasional’s Selamat Ujud, Pejuang’s Samat Atan and BN’s Aznan Tamin (BN) for the seat.

The incumbent assemblyman Datuk Syed Sis Abd Rahman was replaced at the last minute by Aznan, less than 24 hours after he was announced at an event.

Meanwhile PKR’s Pasir Raja candidate Fakhruddin Moslim reported that it was easier to campaign inside Felda settlements this time around.

The son of a Felda Settler from Felda Ayer Tawar Lima in Kota Tinggi said his campaign through walkabouts and phone calls had received favourable response from the youth voters in the area.

"This PRN (state election) saw the people begin to accept our presence in Felda.

"I also hope about 10,000 of the youths who are currently away from the four Feldas in my area can return home and cast their votes too,” he said, adding that he is currently helping to sort out the second generation housing problem in Bukit Ramun Felda in his constituency.

The Pasir Raja seat sees PKR facing a four-cornered fight.

Fakhruddin, 34, is up against two women ― the incumbent from BN Rashidah Ismail and PN’s Intan Jawahir ― as well as Mohd Yusri Mohd Yusof from Pejuang.

The seat has 28,045 voters mostly under 40 years old.

Meanwhile, PKR secretary-general Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Abdullah admitted that Felda has always been a black area for the Opposition and PKR since 1999.

"Fifty-seven out of the 222 parliamentary seats have a substantial number of Felda settlers. We have lost all Felda votes except for the Kemahang state seats in Tanah Merah Parliament in Kelantan.

"But it all changed in 2018 when it no longer was the vote bank for BN,” he said, referring to 2018 upsets where Pakatan Harapan then with Bersatu managed to win several parliamentary seats in the Felda areas.

Saifuddin who is the Kulim-Bandar Baru MP said the trend continues for the state election, with good acceptance from the settlers towards PKR's campaign.

"That is our past and present experience, now Felda is fertile with our influence,” he told Malay Mail.

Saifuddin also reminded that it was the Pakatan Harapan government that introduced the White Paper on Felda which highlighted the problems faced by the settlers and their families, including living costs, housing for the second generation and debt for replanting of their land.

"Our difference from other parties who offered to solve the Felda woes is that we have a clear political will to address the matter.

"If BN had stayed in power, the White Paper would never have seen the light of day,” he said.

"In any situation the Keadilan (PKR) representative will give high commitment.

"They will do their work constructively in the state government as partners in the struggle for the people.

"If we win in the area without state power, we will do our job as the people’s representatives and even if we lose, these representatives will still act as the coordinators in ensuring the people are being represented in voicing out their struggles,” he said.

PKR this time is contesting six seats in the East Johor zone, which was primarily represented by their former partners Bersatu in 2018.