NEW kid on the block Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda) has attracted interest in the Johor elections but after almost a week of campaigning, voters appear to be divided over whether the party deserves support.

Opposition voters were keen to back Muda while Barisan Nasional supporters appeared critical of the youth-based party.

Mohd Johari was sipping his kopi-o after a late lunch of nasi penyet. The 72-year-old supervisor’s lunchtime routine was disrupted when a young Muda volunteer handed him a leaflet.

She told him that Muda secretary-general Amira Aisya Abd Aziz was standing in Puteri Wangsa. He nodded in response.

After the 20-something volunteer had left, Johari flipped open the leaflet. He carefully read it before folding it back.

“Anything is better than the current government,” said Johari, who was born in Kota Baru, Kelantan.

He said the current system was rotten and that while Johor’s roads were well kept, their maintenance was overpriced.

“The municipal council does not do it on its own. They subcontract the work to a middleman who then employs someone to tar the roads,” said Johari, whose employer supplies construction materials.

Johari said he had always voted for the opposition and that Muda would get his vote if it stood in his constituency of Kempas.

A couple watched as Amira delivered her first ceramah in EcoCascadia on Wednesday night. Ismail Ali and Haslinda Omar were among the handful of people at the Muda event.

The couple were impressed by the young volunteers who outnumbered the audience.

“Muda has pull with a lot of young voters,” Haslinda said.

“They will do well if they can maintain their campaign.”

Although the couple were registered to vote in Kota Iskandar voters, they came to show their support.

They said it was important to support Syed Saddiq Abdul Rahman’s new party.

“We don’t like the current government,” they said.

‘Won’t they get old?’

But in Larkin, where Muda is also fielding a candidate, Fazli Mohamed said he still did not know what the new party was about after a week on the campaign trail.

“Their flags just appeared out of nowhere. Who is the candidate? Which side is Muda on?” said Fazli.

Fazli, who is 48, said he and his friends were unimpressed by Muda’s posturing and vaunted youthful energy.

“Won’t they get old too?” said Fazli. “All that youth, they seem to lack experience.”

He said although he knew about Muda president Syed Saddiq’s achievements, little was known  about the party and its other leaders.

Another Larkin voter Khairy Sukarjat said the new party was the vote for the opposition.

Tthe 50-year-old said Muda’s objectives and ideology were unclear.

“Parties are like new products. If we know the product, we don’t need to ask a lot about the candidate and we will vote for the party.

Khairy said he voted for Umno even when he didn’t know the candidate.

In Machap, Roziana Md Fadzil said Muda was just a fad.

“It’s fashionable to support Muda now. Young people like this.

“But can Muda last like BN or PKR? Youth voters always follow a certain trend but is this necessarily good?” said Roziana.

Satay sellers Eddy Shari and Mohd Jefri Amin were also underwhelmed by the party.

“Muda is not special,” said Eddy as he packed his charcoal grill at the end of the day.

“I think BN is still the best if we want to restore the government quickly,” said the Kota Tinggi native, who comes from a family of Umno supporters.

The 25-year-old hawker said Muda candidates lacked experience.

“They are young and energetic. But what can they do when they lack experience?” said Eddy.

After her ceramah on Wednesday, an optimistic Amira said feedback to her campaign had been good.

“But I’m concerned whether that will translate into votes.”

She admitted that much of the support seemed to come from established opposition voters, but said Muda was working to convert new believers.

“We know our shortcomings and we are ready to go into Felda Ulu Tebrau this weekend. We know how important it is to woo new voters.” – March 4, 2022.