JOHOR BARU, May 19 — Iskandar Puteri MCA is optimistic that there will be a swing in its favour in the parliamentary electorate, giving Barisan Nasional (BN) the edge in the high-stakes federal seat if a general election is held this year.

Iskandar Puteri MCA chief Datuk Jason Teoh Sew Hock said that it was possible that voters might tip the scales in MCA's favour in light of the results of the recent Johor state election.

"During the 14th general election (GE14), BN lost the state seats of Kota Iskandar and Skudai that fall under the Iskandar Puteri federal seat, which was retained by Pakatan Harapan (PH).

"After the state elections in March, we noticed a swing to BN after the coalition won the Kota Iskandar state seat with a 4,360 majority in a five-cornered contest and also narrowed PH’s majority stake in the Skudai state seat by 9,000 votes in a three-cornered contest.

"So, mathematically, BN’s chances of securing the Iskandar Puteri parliamentary constituency is good,” said Teoh after an event where Iskandar Puteri MCA gave out baskets of essential food items to Sekolah Agama Taman Universiti in Taman Universiti, Skudai here today.

The food baskets, packed into boxes, was an initiative of Iskandar Puteri MCA for those living and working in the parliamentary constituency.

Teoh, a 52-year-old politician and businessman, believes that the swing in Iskandar Puteri to BN was due to voters’ attitude.

"Back in GE14, the voters only wanted BN to fall. However, things are different now and voters know who to cast their vote for,” he said, adding that since this year, Iskandar Puteri has registered a whopping 220,000 registered voters, making the parliamentary constituency one of the biggest in Johor.

Teoh, who is known to be active in social as well as welfare activities in Iskandar Puteri, explained that what was important is MCA’s approach to the community despite not securing the state or parliamentary seat.

He said that for Iskandar Puteri MCA, being there for your constituents and servicing them is paramount.

Teoh also said he was unfazed by the retirement of DAP veteran and Iskandar Puteri MP Lim Kit Siang from politics.

He recalled that this was the third time that Lim had said he would retire from politics.

"For Iskandar Puteri MCA, we will continue to do our best in discharging our duties and responsibilities to the community.

"We are not affected by Lim, whether he is around or not,” he said, adding that with BN having good momentum moving towards GE15, MCA must continue to work hard and reach out to voters within the constituency.

On the possibility of being named as the Iskandar Puteri parliamentary candidate in the coming general election, Teoh said it was for MCA’s top leadership to decide.

He said what was important is that he is not a "parachute” politician.

Teoh, an MCA grassroots politician, made a name for himself when he was one of the first BN candidates to kickstart an early campaign for GE13 to challenge DAP for the then Nusajaya federal seat.

However, Teoh’s campaign was cut short after he had to make way for former Johor mentri besar Tan Sri Abdul Ghani Othman who lost to DAP veteran Lim.

In GE14, Teoh managed to stand as a BN candidate, but lost to Lim in the then-newly created Iskandar Puteri federal seat in 2018. The Iskandar Puteri constituency was carved out from the previous Nusajaya federal seat.