IBRAHIM, 85, moved to Malaya from India a year after Merdeka. He came to help his father run a sundry shop along Jalan Maharani in Muar.

The shop selling newspapers, magazines, cigarettes and things like soft drinks and other sundry items was started by his father in 1918.

He and his family have always voted Barisan Nasional because the coalition was credible and its policies brought stability.

But Ibrahim is uncertain if he will support BN in GE14 despite admitting that he liked the candidate Razali Ibrahim.

He said issues, such as the goods and services tax (GST) and allegations of corruption by the government, had caused him to rethink his support.

“My business is affected by GST. People now have less money and they think twice before buying anything and on the newspaper side, several magazine titles have even stopped publishing. As for the newspapers, the sales have been affected by the government’s credibility,” he added.

He said that some of his customers have stopped buying newspapers because they don’t believe them any more.

Pakatan Harapan (PH) believes that slowly but surely, the tide of support for the opposition is growing stronger, fuelling the dare to dream sentiment in their ranks.

From the outset, the opposition identified Johor as a front line battleground, encouraged by the demographics and biting cost of living.

Strong Chinese reaction to Pakatan

At the Bersatu election centre in Pagoh, dozens of Chinese volunteers awaited their turn to take part in a polling agent and counting agent (PACA) training.

A long-time staff member of Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin told Malaysia Decides that it was unprecedented.

“I have followed Tan Sri (Muhyiddin) to campaign here for many years with BN but we have never had so many Chinese volunteers before,” he said.

The support PH is receiving in Johor did not go unnoticed by Muhyiddin, who has contested the Pagoh seat seven times in 40 years.

“It’s the same wherever we go, whether it’s the ceramah or the walkabouts. People, especially the Chinese, come out and greet us and say that they will support us.

“In all my time campaigning here with MCA, the Chinese voters rarely came out to greet us when we went to the kopitiam and warung,” said the 70-year-old former deputy prime minister.

He said the scene was similar when he spoke during a ceramah kelompok in the Umno stronghold of Parit Nawi on Monday.

The seasoned campaigner said people at the ceramah would applaud whenever he spoke about removing GST and Dr Mahathir Mohamad becoming prime minister again if PH won.

A Invoke Centre for Policy Initiatives survey, released on Monday, said that Malay support for BN had fallen to 18% from 41% in December.

Invoke founder Rafizi Ramli said the survey was carried out from April 12-23.

DAP Johor chief Liew Chin Tong said he could feel the “wind of change”, four days into campaigning.

Liew, who is taking on MCA deputy president Wee Ka Siong in Ayer Hitam, said the numbers at the ceramah have been good so far.

“We had close to 5,000 at the ceramah in Segamat last night. Although it was mostly non-Malays, the Malay turnout has been bigger than previous years,” he added.

Situation still fluid

But Umno Johor think-tank, Bait Al-Amanah (House of Trust) said the situation is still very fluid in Johor.

It said the first four days of campaign has showed that voting tendencies have moved away from party lines.

“The service and track record of the incumbent matters and all the campaign promises will be evaluated and scrutinised for both sides,” said Bait Al-Amanah in a statement to Malaysia Decides.

The think-tank said that the strength and cohesiveness of the party machinery is always a crucial denominator in any election and that is where BN has the upper hand.

This machinery is important in transporting supporters to the polling centres. – May 2, 2018.