Johor state election: Parties vie to capture Felda votes

After the 14th General Election (GE14), many have come to view that the Felda vote is no longer BN's fixed deposit, and so other political parties, including Pakatan Harapan (PH), Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang) have decided to do their best to win the settlers over.

Some of the candidates have been making bold claims that they were championing issues close to the hearts of Felda settlers in an effort to garner votes.

According to sociopolitical analyst Assoc Prof Dr Awang Azman Awang Pawi, 54 per cent of Felda votes went to PH during GE14, but the state election has witnessed many more parties contesting, which might just split the Felda votes.

"(Pejuang chairman) Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, for instance, never came to Felda in Machap constituency during the 22 years of his first prime ministership and also in the 22 months of his second prime ministership. This is the first time he's campaigning in Felda Machap here.

JOHOR-FELDA (FOCUS) 2 JOHOR BAHRU

"This shows that anyone from any party is willing to campaign here. Yet whether their presence here will translate into votes is still an unknown matter until the results are announced this Saturday," he told Bernama.

Awang Azman said 20 of 56 state seats being contested are in Felda areas.

"Felda could turn out to be the factor that decides who wins 20 state seats," he said.

Political analyst Dr Che Hamdan Che Mohd Razali meanwhile said that the state election was different from the general election that involves the entire country, as it has allowed top leaders, including Cabinet members to focus on Felda areas in Johor.

"It is very significant as voters can interact directly and it will affect the ballot results," said the Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) Pahang branch Administrative Science and Policy Studies Faculty senior lecturer.

JOHOR-FELDA (FOCUS) 3 (LAST) JOHOR BAHRU

Che Hamdan said PH, which is usually confident in having the backing of urbanites, stands a chance of dominating the state elections if they manage to garner more support from Felda areas.

"Post GE14, we can see political trends showing changes in terms of support where Felda, a known BN fixed deposit, is concerned. BN no longer has guaranteed support from Felda settlers.

"In terms of strategy and issues, all want to show how they are the ones championing Felda settlers. Promises relating to land ownership for second generation Felda settlers, living costs, Felda revival and other assistance have been part of what they have chosen to talk about," Che Hamdan said.

BN and PN have declared in their respective Johor state election manifestos, "Ikhtiar BN" and "Ikrar PN", several specific strategies for Felda areas, including housing, improving economic activities and maintenance, as well as the land premium rates and cooperatives involvement.