UMNO leader says he sees growing Chinese support in Johor

MALAYSIA: Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi believes that Chinese support for BN is increasing, and he hopes that the sentiment will translate into votes in the Johor state elections this Saturday.

His statement came days after a Democratic Action Party (DAP) man, Dr Ong Kian Ming, predicted BN would record a massive victory in Johor this time, with expectations to sweep up to 53 out of the total 56 State Legislative Assembly seats.

Zahid said that Chinese voters he met had said they felt their previous assemblymen did not live up to expectations.

“They told me that this time round they will put their trust in BN’s candidates.”

BN is contesting all 56 seats at the Johor election on July 11. Chinese voters comprise 36.7% of the electorate. DAP was the largest opposition group in the Johor assembly.

The prospects for Pakatan Harapan (PH) of which the DAP is the biggest component party, in these elections are said to be dim. If Zahid’s and Ong Kian Ming’s predictions come true, it will mean that Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s coalition is heading for a massive defeat. It will be one that will be reminiscent of the Sabah state elections last year, which saw a massive wipeout of the DAP.

Ong Kian Ming attributed PH’s weak prospects to the absence of a solid campaign narrative. He added that PH’s failure to name a Chief Minister (Menteri Besar) candidate is also a drawback.

The lack of senior leaders contesting this time and the delay in the launch of the PH manifesto will also add to the woes of the ruling party in Malaysia.

“Even though PH announces its manifesto this weekend, time will not be enough to mobilise it to voters extensively,” he said in a statement.

Nevertheless, Zahid added that BN had fielded 19 non-Malay candidates for the Johor polls, but they were considered “underdogs.” However, “it provides really good optics for BN when it comes to Chinese voters.”

On the other hand, Ong Kian Ming, a former Deputy Minister of International Trade and Industry, said the probability of BN achieving a landslide victory has now increased from over 50% to over 60% after the first week of the campaign.

He said the projection is based on three scenarios – namely those favouring BN, PH, and Perikatan Nasional (PN) – by using voting data from the 15th General Election (GE15).

In the scenario favouring BN, which is also seen as the most likely to happen, he said PH is expected to win only three of the state seats.

He gives PN, the opposition alliance headed by the Islamist PAS (PAS MALAYSIA), a slim chance of winning.