JOHOR BAHARU, March 20 – Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed could only shake his head when told the opposition, in particular, the DAP, has plans to win 15 of the 26 parliamentary seats in Johor at the 13th General Election. Pausing momentarily, the Pulai member of parliament said, the DAP was sadly mistaken as the unique attitude of the Chinese community in the state was to stand firmly by the Barisan Nasional (BN) all along.
“From one seat (which the DAP won in the 2008 General Election) to 15 parliamentary seats? I don’t know where they get this (prediction to win big). It is unrealistic,” said Nur Jazlan, 47.
Recently, DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang was reported to have openly admitted that he would contest the Gelang Patah parliamentary seat and head the opposition machinery in Johor. No wonder, the 73-year-old veteran politician was said to have been frequently visiting Johor.
In his blog entry recently, he said Pakatan Rakyat (PR) would focus on 15 seats in Johor – Bakri, Segamat, Tebrau, Kluang, Kulai, Batu Pahat, Pulai, Johor Baharu, Penggerang, Semberong, Labis, Muar, Ledang, simpang renggam and gelang patah. In 2008, BN candidate Tan Ah Eng defeated Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) candidate Zaliha Mustafa in Gelang Patah with a 8,851 vote majority after obtaining 33,630 votes.
Nur Jazlan, whose father was the late Tan Sri Mohamed Rahmat who held the posts of Umno secretary-general, information minister and Pulai member of parliament, said BN remained confident with the Chinese voters. He said, Johor’s Chinese community in the past were invited by the Sultan of Johor in the late 1800s, to join trade activities and commerce in the state.
“They (Johor Chinese community) were not brought into the state by the British, which differs from other areas in the country. This explains their sense of belonging in Johor,” said Nur Jazlan, who is also UDA Holdings chairman. The Johor Chinese community, he said, also integrated with the lives of locals there, making them more unique than their counterparts in other states.
“The DAP and Pakatan Rakyat have insulted the Johor Chinese community by pushing aside their unique attitude and mentality,” he said.
Nur Jazlan’s confidence is not baseless. At a time when BN was not popular in other states in 2008, BN only lost the Bakri parliamentary seat to a DAP candidate but continues to become a BN stronghold with 50 state assembly seats, as compared to DAP (four) and Pas (two).
BN even obtained a higher majority during the Tenang by-election in January 2011, despite the election being carried out during the flood season, with its candidate winning a majority of 3,707 votes as compared to 2,492 votes previously, against Pas. Johor BN component party leaders realise the opposition’s frenzy in breaking down BN’s stronghold. For them, it is more of a psychological war heading towards the coming election.
Gelang Patah MCA division chief Jason Teoh also agreed that the unique Johor Chinese community would cripple DAP’s hopes, with its allies PKR and Pas.
Teoh, who is also state MCA vice-chairman, said the opposition’s dream to conquer a large portion of the 26 parliamentary seats in Johor in the coming general election was nothing more than empty political talk.
“It is a general statement from the opposition which has no evidence. As a BN stronghold, the Johor MCA has retained hardcore supporters who care for the party,” he said.
Besides that, the opposition also needs to take into account that Johor is a state with the most MCA members nationwide. Teoh, whose name was mentioned as a potential BN candidate for the ‘hot’ Gelang Patah seat, said BN had successfully addressed issues which were close to the hearts of Chinese voters such as economy, business, education and security. Meanwhile, Johor Baharu Member of Parliament Tan Sri Shahrir Samad said the political tsunami of the 12th General Election which saw Chinese voters turn to the opposition had disappeared, following hard work from the BN government leadership.
He said DAP, which now considered itself the ‘Taiko’ of the opposition coalition, could no longer depend on expectations that the 2008 political tsunami would continue.
“Times have changed (compared to 2008) and BN in Johor will not be static, but instead, change its ways and approach.
“These (Johor BN’s efforts) began four years ago, and because of this, we are ready to face the general election,” he added.
For Umno information chief Datuk Ahmad Maslan, the 2008 political tsunami has ended and the success of BN in flooding the state with investments, as well as economic opportunities, would attract the support of the Johor Chinese voters in the 13th General Election.
BERNAMA
