JB business owners hope orders will flow in

JOHOR BARU: When the Johor election took place in March this year, local businesses saw a flurry of orders and they are hoping to see similar takings in the upcoming 15th General Election (GE15).

Printing shop manager Werry Chong said in the state election earlier, orders began pouring in more than a month before the March 12 polling day.

“After the state assembly was dissolved on Jan 22, it was as if everything sprang into action suddenly as we received orders quite early on for flags and other political materials.

“However, the situation is quite different this time round – it is much quieter in Johor, surprisingly.

“We are hoping for this to change after the Election Commission (EC) announces the vital dates for GE15 such as nomination day and polling day,” she said.

She believes orders would come after nomination day or even later.

She added that the “election fever” has not hit the Johor Baru area yet.

“Maybe it is because the people are more concerned about the state election as they feel that it has more direct impact on them compared to federal issues,” said Chong.

Zaini Atan, who runs a restaurant and catering business, said he hoped orders would start coming in when ceramah and events go into full swing after nomination day.

“Things have cooled down a lot after the state election and it is much quieter these days despite the announcement of an upcoming general election.

“Business operators like us are facing challenges such the price increase of raw materials, shortage of workers and strong competition,” he said.

On the other hand, business owner Azlan Abdul Samad does not expect to gain a lot from GE15 as political parties usually have their preferred contractors and vendors.