JOHOR BARU, Feb 25 — The fierce jostling for 56 state seats, to form the new state government in the Johor state election, will begin tomorrow.
Barisan Nasional (BN) hopes that the state will return to be their stronghold, but it will certainly not be given easy access by Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Pakatan Harapan (PH).
The state election will also witness several new political parties, with Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang), Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (MUDA), Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) making their debut, as well as Parti Warisan (Warisan) which will contest for the first time in the Peninsula. There is also the established Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM).
Mathematically, MUDA, which is a strategic partner of PH as well as Pejuang which will be contesting in 42 state seats, can form the state government if they get a simple majority of 29 seats.
MUDA will be fielding seven candidates, while Warisan will contest six seats, PBM (four) and PSM (one).
The Election Commission (EC) has set March 12 as polling day, with nomination day being tomorrow (Feb 26) and early voting on March 8.
Political analyst, Prof Dr Sivamurugan Pandian, from Universiti Sains Malaysia, sees the participation of Warisan and PBM could be decisive in the formation of the state government, if they succeed in gaining seats and with no party getting a clear majority.
Apart from that, he said that the state polls will also serve as a testing ground to see if these parties had the support of the people, and subsequently formulate a strategy for the 15th General Election (GE15).
“If their strategy is successful, it will be adopted in GE15, and if they lose, improvements and interventions will be made to face the next election,” he told Bernama today.
However, the participation of more political parties is seen to split the vote and give an advantage to BN if it uses the right approach and strategy. — Bernama