SHAH ALAM, July 11 - Smaller political parties have failed to generate a new wave in the 16th Johor state election, which continues to be dominated by Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan.
According to Ilham Centre, although parties such as the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (MUDA) and Parti Bersama Malaysia were expected to offer voters an alternative, neither succeeded in significantly influencing voting patterns.
In the executive summary of voting patterns for the polls, released today, the campaigns of both parties were overshadowed by competition among the major political parties, making it difficult for them to attract voters' attention.
"Overall, Ilham Centre's qualitative findings show that some voters viewed MUDA and Bersama as merely 'spoilers' in the Johor state election contest.
"The term reflects the perception that their presence served more to split the Opposition vote than to offer a genuinely competitive third option," it said.
For MUDA, the study found that its campaign strategy relied too heavily on the popularity of Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman, but this failed to translate into broad-based support in Johor.
The findings also indicated that voters believed MUDA's victory in Puteri Wangsa in the 2022 state election was largely attributable to its position within Harapan at the time.
"(It was) not solely due to Syed Saddiq's popularity. When contesting independently, MUDA failed to retain the advantage it had enjoyed in the previous election," the Ilham Centre said.
It also found that MUDA's presence in several constituencies, including Simpang Jeram, Maharani, Bukit Batu, and Puteri Wangsa, did more to split votes than to build new political strength.
As for Bersama, the research body found that the party's campaign failed to generate a new phenomenon or wave among voters despite its attempts to project the image of a new-generation political movement.
Instead, it was seen as being trapped in the campaign approach of established parties, while several controversies involving its candidates overshadowed its efforts to present an alternative political narrative.
Taking place tomorrow, the Johor state election features 172 candidates from various political coalitions, with voter turnout expected to reach 70 per cent.
