COMMENTARY, March 5 ― Just one week back, a total of 239 candidates from various political parties were accepted by the Election Commission to contest a total of 56 state seats in the Johor state election.
Since then, the political temperature in the state has grown cold unlike several weeks before nomination when verbal wars broke out among the parties were headline news.
The only war now is between the three main Malay-based parties which are out to bury each other so that only one is recognised as the champion for Malays.
The main Malay party Umno which leads the multi-racial coalition Barisan Nasional (BN) is up against Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang) and Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin’s Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu).
Mahathir and Muhyiddin continue pounding on kleptocracy and corruption issues.
Other parties like Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman’s Muda, Shafie Apdal’s Sabah-based Warisan, KL-based PBM and PAS are considered “sideline players” while PKR and DAP are fighting to stay alive and make an impact following their dismal performances in Malacca last year.
All these parties are still fighting to find issues that resonate with voters as people in Johor seem to be more interested in state affairs rather than national-level issues which to them do not benefit the masses in any way.
Kopitiam owner Chong Lai, 58, said people just want a return to the old days where Johor youngsters worked in Singapore and when Singaporeans come to Johor Baru to shop.
Even the DAP is in a dilemma as to what issues to play up to sustain support for the party, what more to attract new young voters because its tirade against Najib Razak's visit to Foon Yew school has not received the response hoped for by the party.
PKR is playing it cool as it walks a tightrope in order not to antagonise Malay voters while at the same time stopping any Chinese voters from abandoning the multi-racial party.
With one week more to go before polling, candidates’ own meet-the-people sessions matter as they are now the focus of voters in their respective constituencies.
Iskandar Ishak, 69, a Larkin constituency voter said for Malays it is still the candidate that matters as they will be with the voters the next five years, not the party leaders.
Whatever it is, seven days is a long enough time to win the hearts and minds of the voters.
