POLITICAL stability and economic growth are among issues parties will drive home during the Johor elections campaign, observers predicted.

Both have not been handled well in the past two years and have caused many uncertainties, they said.

However, they added corruption and transparency may still be used to take on Barisan Nasional (BN), especially with Najib Razak and Ahmad Zahid Hamidi leading Umno in Johor.

Perikatan Nasional (PN) chairman Muhyiddin Yassin and Pejuang chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad have openly criticised Najib on a number of occasions, asking Johor voters to reject corrupt leaders.

BN, on the other hand have reminded Johor folk on the importance to back a party that is capable of spearheading the state leadership, ensuring political stability and bringing economic prosperity – drawing on its 60 years of rule before its was defeated in the last general election.

Pakatan Harapan (PH) meanwhile, is expected to push its long-awaited reform agenda and good governance they say will automatically guarantee stability and enhance the economy.

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia Dr Mazlan Ali said although corruption and stability will remain as the agenda for many, some parties may harp on religious issues. 

He was referring to the recent court case where a single mother was allowed custody to her three Muslim children who were converted without her consent. 

“Economy and stability will be the main issues for almost every party contesting, more so during this time when the economy has not been able to grow due to the epidemic and stability after a series of political backstabbing. 

“Everyone will talk about this but I think we may also hear on the unilateral conversion issue, which was a major point of contention a more than a week.

“PAS and Umno may use this to highlight the need for a Malay-Muslim dominant government, to assure the Malays they will be taken care of,” said the academic. 

The Kuala Lumpur High Court has recently ordered single mother Loh Siew Hong to have full custody of her children, who were converted to Islam without her consent.

Loh has been separated from her children – twin 14-year-old girls and a 10-year-old boy – since 2019 while she was in hospital due to injuries she claimed she sustained from physical abuse by her ex-husband Naghaswaran Muniandy.

It was sometime in July 2020 Nagahswaran had the children converted, and Loh was unable to find them, with Covid-19 lockdowns also hampering her efforts. 

Nagahswaran is currently in prison in Kelantan for a drug-related offence.

However, Prof Dr Awang Azman Awang Pawi of Universiti Malaya disagreed saying the issue is too sensitive to be used in Johor.

He agreed that matters such as finance, wellbeing and stability will be the main focus of every party. 

“Parties contesting know how the Johor sultan dislikes religion being used in politics. I believe they will not make use of this issue during elections campaign. 

“Yes, economy and stability will be very much said by everyone. Especially after they published their own manifestos,” he added. 

Nomination of candidates for the Johor polls took place yesterday at 56 nomination centres. 

BN, PN, and PH – with their strategic partners Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda) – Pejuang, Warisan, Parti Bangsa Malaysia and Parti Sosialis Malaysia will be contesting in the polls. 

The EC has set polling day for March 12 and early voting on March 8. 

Registered voters total 2.6 million. 

Time for BN to show political stability

For James Chin of Tasmania University, BN will continue to harp on political stability to win the Johor polls.

He said after two state elections in Malacca and Sarawak, it is time for BN to show how stable the coalition is. 

“If we take all the arguments about either Najib or someone else, it is all about political stability. Especially after Malacca and Sarawak. 

“Every party is out there to show they can bring unity or firmness should they get elected. At this point, BN wants to show they can offer stability, using Malacca and Sarawak as examples,” he said. 

Economic revival is voters’ main concern

Dr Oh Ei Sun, a Senior Fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, said voters may want to hear more on how the political parties are going to revive the state economy. 

He also dismissed Mazlan’s theory that religious issues may be used during the campaign period. 

“I think economic revival would likely be at the top of concerns for most voters. Johor’s economy suffered tremendously by having been cut off from Singapore. Stability and the economy are all connected to one another but I think mostly about socio-economic survival.” 

“However, on religious issues, especially unilateral conversion, it has to be said that Johor has almost equal numbers of Malay and non-Malay voters, and 36 out of 56 seats are mixed (with a minimum 30% non-Malays), so racial and religious issues are not likely to dominate. 

“Furthermore, many Johor folk work or have worked in Singapore and are more exposed to world-class good governance, and can compare that with what they see at home,” said Oh. 

EC announced 239 candidates for the Johor polls, with BN and PN leading the way with 56 each, followed by PH (50), Pejuang (42), Muda (7), Warisan (6), PBM (4), Putra (1) and PSM (1). 

There are 16 Independent candidates contesting the 56 seats. – February 27, 2022.