KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 16 — MCA believes that it can win up to six seats in the upcoming Johor state elections by riding on Barisan Nasional’s (BN) formula of stability and economics, said a report in The Malaysian Insight.

Johor MCA secretary Ng Keng Heng told the portal that the party could win as many as six seats, including Yong Peng and Pekan Nanas in which it has some history.

“A stable state government will help reboot the Johor economy by providing better business opportunities,” Ng was quoted saying.

Yong Peng comes under the Ayer Hitam parliamentary constituency, which party president Dr Wee Ka Siong won in the 2018 general election while Pekan Nanas is under the Tanjung Piai parliamentary constituency.

MCA lost the Tanjung Piai seat in 2018, but recovered it a year later during the by-election, with the support of Pekan Nanas voters.

Ng said that businesses in the southern state have been struggling under the weight of the pandemic, without the Singaporean tourist dollars it previously relied on.

Singaporeans comprised more than 35 per cent of tourists arrivals in Malaysia and in 2019, 10.16 million out of 26.1 million arrivals were from the island republic.

But due to the lockdowns and the closing of international borders, in 2020, the number dropped by more than 80 per cent to just 1.55 million.

Last year, BN also touted its “stable government” slogan in the Malacca state elections, where it won 21 out of the 28 seats.

Ng also believed that its chances of winning were higher without former prime minister’s Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) scandal to haunt MCA.

“He has been coming to Johor lately and wherever he goes there are crowds of people who approach him. I believe most voters are no longer as angry as they were in 2018,” said the Kota Tinggi division chief, referring to Najib.

Ng said another reason for MCA’s confidence in the state comes from the leadership change in the all-Chinese party.

“Wee became president in 2018 and since then there have been many changes,” he said, adding that with the transport minister as the state chief, processes have been moving faster

“Compared with previously, there is more urgency in Johor MCA now. We are resolving issues at a much quicker pace and have built a better network,” said the 55-year-old Ng.

In the 2018 polls, MCA lost all the 15 Johor state seats it contested. That was its worst performance since the 2008 and 2013 elections when it won 12 and two state seats respectively.

There are 56 seats up for contest in the upcoming Johor state elections on March 12.