JOHOR BARU: After an intense but largely peaceful campaign, Johor’s 2.7 million voters will decide who will form the next state government today, with Barisan Nasional widely expected to retain power despite a stronger challenge from Pakatan Harapan.
Seven parties and coalitions are contesting the 56 state seats, although the main contest remains between Barisan and Pakatan.
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia political analyst Assoc Prof Dr Mazlan Ali said voter turnout today would be under close scrutiny by political parties.
He said all parties would be banking on different turnout numbers, as a low voter turnout may work in Barisan’s favour, while Pakatan is banking on a high voter turnout.
Johor has 25 Malay-majority seats, 17 mixed constituencies and 14 non-Malay-majority seats.
Despite Barisan’s advantage, several constituencies are expected to be closely fought. Among them is Puteri Wangsa, where Pakatan’s prospective mentri besar candidate Dr Maszlee Malik is contesting in a five-cornered race.
Perling is also under the spotlight as MIC is contesting a Chinese-majority seat for the first time, while Bukit Batu, won by PKR in 2022 with a majority of just 137 votes, is expected to remain highly competitive.
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Other seats to watch include Layang-Layang, where MCA is contesting following a seat swap with Umno; Bukit Kepong, where Johor Bersatu chief and former mentri besar Datuk Dr Sahruddin Jamal is contesting; and Endau, where Barisan has fielded Alwiyah Talib after she returned to Umno from Bersatu.
Other marginal constituencies include Bukit Pasir, Parit Yaani, Tangkak, Serom and Jementah, all won by fewer than 750 votes in 2022.
Kota Iskandar, home to the state administrative centre, also bears watching as it has Johor’s largest electorate of 132,579 voters, including the highest number of young voters at 11,650.
The campaign entered its final stretch with both Barisan and Pakatan deploying their top leaders across the state.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim made several visits to Johor, addressing dozens of events in support of Pakatan candidates.
Parti Bersama Malaysia, which is making its electoral debut in 15 seats, is not expected to win many constituencies. But, the party could influence several contests by drawing support away from Pakatan.
The campaign also saw several controversies. PAS leaders urged supporters to back Barisan candidates in the 23 seats not contested by Perikatan, prompting Pakatan to allege an understanding between Umno and PAS to avoid splitting the Malay vote. Barisan leaders have denied any such arrangement.
Pakatan, meanwhile, had to contend with claims by former Skudai DAP assemblyman Marina Ibrahim that a senior party leader had privately supported Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s bid for house arrest despite publicly opposing it.
Within Barisan, former Johor Speaker Datuk Dr Puad Zarkashi publicly criticised Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi after his son was not selected as a candidate. Onn Hafiz also came under repeated attacks from political rivals over his leadership and Johor-Singapore Special Economic Zone (JS-SEZ) claims.
A total of 172 candidates are contesting the election, but only 56 will emerge as Johor’s next assemblymen by the end of today.
