Johor polls: Can Dr Mahathir's presence spell success for Pejuang?

After only penning open letters to voters, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad went to Kluang on Thursday to help the Parti Pejuang Tanah Air's (Pejuang) campaign in the Johor state election, despite being advised by doctors about risks to his health due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

At the age of 97, the Pejuang chairman, who just recovered from a serious illness, accompanied by his wife Tun Dr Siti Hasmah Mohamad Ali, attended a lunch function with the Chinese Business and Industry Association in Batu Pahat on Thursday, before joining the party's Aspirasi Johor programme in Felda Ayer Hitam the same day.

However, can Dr Mahathir's presence help Pejuang to achieve success in the election that it is participating in for the first time? Based on observations, the two events did not attract many attendees, but they certainly injected enthusiasm into the party machinery.

Pejuang is contesting in 42 seats out of 56 up for grabs in the election.

Its Pejuanita Muda (women's wing) chief Dr Nurul Ashikin Mabahwi said the presence of the twice former prime minister had indeed boosted the party machinery to go all out with just a week remaining before polling day.

"After we posted live the events on social media, we got many more requests on social media asking for Tun to come down to their state constituencies. So with Tun's presence, the momentum is great for our machinery to reach out to the people.

Speaking at the events, Dr Mahathir expressed his gratitude for the opportunity to be able to come down to Johor and stated that his intention in doing so was only to serve the country and the people, especially in eliminating corruption and abuse of power.

According to Nurul Ashikin, Pejuang is consistent in its goal to create a corruption-free administration, apart from the party's aspiration to prioritise the people's economy and bridge the economic gap between districts in Johor as well as appreciate the talents of young people.

"We see that the people's acceptance of Pejuang is quite positive, Insya-Allah (God willing), it is not impossible that we will succeed in forming the government," she said.

Dr Mahathir's seriousness and Pejuang's dependence on the elder statesman could be seen in his efforts to pen four open letters to Johor voters so far, due to the constraints on him to go to Johor regularly.

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) Faculty of Social Sciences and Humanities Senior Lecturer Dr Muhammed Fauzi Othman was of the view that Dr Mahathir is respected by friends and foes alike and his thoughts are still sharp, but his influence is not as strong as before.

Pejuang, he noted, as a new party is also not well known and has no track record, making it difficult for the party to compete with Barisan Nasional (BN), Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Perikatan Nasional (PN), who are the major players in the election.

Commenting on whether candidates or parties will be the voters' choice, he said in general, Malaysian society had not yet reached a high level in terms of Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs by making the question of integrity, environment and social justice urgent needs.

"They are still at level one and two of the Maslow hierarchy of needs theory, that is still being focused on basic needs such as livelihood, housing, education assistance, employment and so on. Therefore, this fighting corruption and abuse of power cause I feel is more suited to the urban populace and the elite," he said.

Maslow's Hierarchy of Needs theory put forward by Abraham Maslow, an Amercian psychologist, states that individuals are motivated to meet basic needs first before moving on to other more advanced needs.

Polling is on March 12 while early voting on March 8.

-- BERNAMA