PETALING JAYA – The decisive votes for the two by-elections in Johor this month will come from the non-Malay voters, posits Umno stalwart Tan Sri Shahrir Abdul Samad.
In a Facebook post today, he said Pakatan Harapan (PH) won the Pulai parliamentary and Simpang Jeram state seats in the Johor state polls and 15th general election held previously due to the support of non-Malay voters, mainly the Chinese.
This, he said, was due to the continuation of the "Chinese tsunami" which was evident in the 2018 general election.
"Are there any factors which can calm this 'Chinese tsunami' or will the 'green wave' hit Johor?” he said.
In the last general election in November last year, the late Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub won the Pulai constituency after he defeated Barisan Nasional's (BN) Datuk Nur Jazlan Mohamed and Perikatan Nasional's (PN) Loh Kah Yong.
Salahuddin, who was Amanah's deputy president, won the seat by 33,174 votes.
He had earlier at the state election in March last year won Simpang Jeram by 2,399 votes in a four-cornered fight.
He, however, died on July 21 after undergoing surgery for brain haemorrhage.
"My observation is that the presence of a new leader, who is Johor Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi, will have a positive impact on PH-BN in the outcomes of both by-elections.
“He is a new effective leader who is not burdened by any controversy," he said.
Shahrir was the domestic trade and consumer affairs minister from 2008 to 2009, and chairman of the BN Backbenchers Club from 2004 to 2006.
He had also served as a minister twice in the 1980s, and was the Johor Bahru MP for six non-consecutive terms.
Shahrir added that there is nothing much for both the Malay and non-Malay voters to protest about unless they opt to simply "follow the trend".
Both the by-elections for Pulai and Simpang will feature three-cornered contests on September 9.
For the Pulai seat, PH candidate Suhaizan Kaiat, who is a former Johor state assembly speaker, will face PN’s Zulkifli Jaafar, and independent candidate Samsudin Mohamad Fauzi who is using the key symbol.
PH’s Nazri Abdul Rahman, who is Bakri Amanah deputy chief, PN’s Dr Mohd Mazri Yahya, who is a PAS central committee member, and businessman S. Jeganathan are in the race for the Simpang Jeram by-election. – The Vibes, September 2, 2023
