CHINESE voters will be the determining factor in mixed constituencies in the Johor elections, analysts said. 

However, parties such as MCA and Umno are having a hard time convincing Chinese voters to support them at the ballot boxes.

This is one of the reasons MCA and Umno have ramped up their attacks against DAP, said the analysts.

Lau Zhe Wei, associate professor with the Political Science Department at International Islamic University (IIUM), said even MCA is having a hard time convincing Chinese voters, what more, Umno.

Umno, whose Malay vote has been grabbed up by other parties, is trying to attract the Chinese vote in mixed areas by attacking DAP, he said.

While Umno’s use of the race card may be effective, looking back at the Malacca elections, Lau said the Chinese vote did not return to Umno or MCA, instead voters merely abstained, with DAP losing only a few seats.

Lau believes Chinese voters are hesitant to elect MCA because of its association with Umno. 

“Umno is aware it is hard to win the Chinese vote because it is obvious they support DAP. Not to mention the Chinese are unhappy with Umno and MCA,” Lau told The Malaysian Insight. 

Referring to a forum attended by Johor Umno deputy chief Nur Jazlan Mohamed on the topic of “Cina DAP Tipu Cina Johor”, Lau said this is just talk, and does not mean Umno is fighting for the Chinese vote. 

Umno’s race rhetoric won’t sell 

Johor DAP deputy chief Teo Nie Ching said Johor folk have long rejected race-based politics, and Umno’s use of it will not win it any favours.

Teo said it is unfortunate that the party gravitated to that strategy, given its defeat in 2018, reforms should be a priority rather than playing the race card. 

“Johor has worked hard to promote harmony between the different races and religions so the election should not be used to provoke racial sentiments,” she said. 

Commenting on Jazlan’s assertion that the Chinese voters in the state had rejected DAP for its allies, Johor DAP chief Liew Chin Tong said Umno was just trying to make itself feel better.

Since 2008, Liew said Umno has been trying to paint DAP as a Chinese extremist party when in reality it is multiracial.

“The 2018 general election proved that 40% of Malay voters in southern Johor and 30% in the whole of Johor did not buy into Umno’s ethnic manipulation,” he said.

With three days left until the polls, Umno has no other cards to play to gain the support of Malay voters, hence it is campaigning against DAP.

Meanwhile, MCA secretary-general Chong Sin Woon said all parties are vying for the Chinese vote as it accounts for 37% of the total electorate. 

“No camp can form a stable government without the Chinese vote.” 

Commenting on Nur Jazlan’s forum, Chong said it is merely the opinion of an Umno leader, and that there are differences in opinion.

“I believe the Chinese voters are aware.”

Johor will go to the polls on March 12 with early voting held yesterday. It is a crowded affair with more than 15 parties and 239 candidates vying for 56 seats.

Barisan Nasional and Perikatan Nasional each have 56 candidates, while Pejuang is fielding 42 candidates and Pakatan Harapan has 30. 

PKR is fielding 20 candidates, followed by 16 independent candidates and seven from Muda.

In its first foray into the peninsula, Warisan is fielding six candidates, while four are representing Parti Bangsa Malaysia. 

Both Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia and Parti Sosialis Malaysia are fielding one candidate each. – March 9, 2022.