MANY things have changed in Johor since the 2018 general election and arrival of the Covid-19 epidemic.

Its capital, Johor Baru, is no longer flooded by Singaporeans looking for a quick break from the island republic during the weekends, and there are no more queues of Malaysians thronging the causeway every morning whether for school or work.

During the weekends, the shopping complexes near the Customs, Immigration and Quarantine complex in Johor Baru resemble ghost malls with hardly any shoppers as the number of people allowed cross borders remain limited to just 1,440 per day.

One thing that has not changed is Barisan Nasional’s (BN) lack of popularity among urbanites.

Just like in the run-up to 14th general election (GE14) that saw BN lose federal power and the southern state, voters in Muar, Kluang, Johor Baru and Bukit Gambir spoke unfavourably of the coalition that has ruled the state the longest.

“This is an unnecessary election that was called because BN wants to win more power, positions and seats,” said retired civil servant Osman Mohd in Bukit Gambir, as he watched a mechanic repair his “kapchai”. The kapchai (small motorcycle) is still a popular mode of transport in small towns as it is cheap to maintain.

“Why can’t BN wait another year and do the general election? It would be cheaper and the money could be used to help those in Segamat who have had their homes damaged in the recent floods,” said the 63-year-old before nomination day on Saturday.

Osman, who used to work in the Defence Ministry, said Caretaker Menteri Besar Hasni Mohammad’s rationale for restoring “stability” to Johor with the state elections was unconvincing.

And while Bukit Gambir may resemble any other sleepy small town that only exists to serve the vast tracts of oil palm estates, it has two notable personalities.

Umno founder Onn Jaafar was born here in 1895 while the incumbent Bukit Gambir assemblyman is former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

And directly facing the shops along the Bukit Gambir road is the main market complex that bears two images of Muhyiddin. The left mural, which was put up before the 2018 elections, depicts Muhyiddin as a local hero while the other was set up after he became prime minister in 2020.

But 51-year-old Liew Soon Yee did not have much to say about Muhyiddin nor his party Bersatu.

“The only party that I won’t vote for is BN,” said the furniture dealer.

“Although BN is the favourite to win Johor, we must not let them win all the seats,” said Liew, who said that he planned to vote despite the rising number of Covid-19 infections.

Going south

Thirty minutes away from Bukit Gambir, Sharon Ng was busy checking a guest into a popular boutique hotel along Jalan Petrie, facing Sungai Muar.

Despite the ongoing epidemic and shortage of Singaporean tourists, Ng said tourism in Muar is still robust as the town still gets visitors from the Klang Valley.

“But some shops have had to close because of the lockdowns,” said the 35-year-old.

With elections around the corner again, she expects more “election visitors” to come to the royal town, famous for its otak-otak, satay, mee bandung and assam pedas.

And while Ng is not as enthusiastic about the upcoming state elections as opposed to the 2018 general election, she, too, plans to vote again.

“But not BN or Muda,” she said with a smile when asked which party she favoured.

BN, said Ng, has not changed despite losing in 2018, while Muda’s ideology is unclear.

“It’s very exciting for me,” said Ng, who has seen Muda president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman as he is the Muar MP.

In 2018 general election, BN lost four of the five state seats under the Muar and Bakri parliamentary constituencies – Bentayan, Sg Jeram, Bukit Naning and Maharani. The only seat it successfully defended was the more rural Sungai Balang.

In the former British administrative capital in Johor, Kluang, three lawyers chatted excitedly about the upcoming elections at a popular cafe along Jalan Ciku during lunch.

Despite the differences in age and background, lawyer Faiz Shukri shared Osman’s view that the snap state elections called by BN was unnecessary.

“This election is driven by power and it’s an absolute waste of money,” said the 28-year-old.

BN, he said, is still driven by power and money and its “stability” message was just rhetoric.

Of the new parties coming into the fray, Faiz said he was most excited about Muda.

“I like that Muda is passionate, dynamic and transparent. There’s no ‘BS’ with them.”

Faiz said that Muda handled the flood relief efforts last year very well, and despite coming from an Umno family, the lawyer said he was impressed by Muda’s inclusivity.

“Umno’s racial politics is irrelevant now. It’s more important for us to focus on governance issues rather than race.”

In the 2018 general election, BN won 19 out of the 56 seats, with Umno contributing 17 and MIC winning two. Of the 19, 18 were rural seats. The only non-rural seat won by BN was the suburban constituency of Parit Raja.

Pakatan Harapan, on the other hand, swept up 13 urban and all but two of the 23 suburban seats, giving it a total of 36.

According to research outfit Ilham Centre, the 56 state seats in Johor can be categorised as 13 urban, 23 suburban and 20 rural.

Like everywhere else, Covid-19 has changed much of Johor. And even as people become accustomed to vaccinations, face coverings and social distancing, one thing has not changed much.

And that is the distrust for BN among the urban folk. – February 23, 2022.