8 hot seats to watch in the Johor polls

[superadmin]

JOHOR BAHRU: As Johoreans go to the polls today, many observers expect Barisan Nasional to bulldoze its way to another decisive election victory four months after notching up a landslide win in Melaka.

A low voter turnout, less to do with the Covid-19 pandemic and more because of a jaded electorate, has worked against Pakatan Harapan in Melaka as well as in Sarawak in December.

The big question remains whether one of the three coalitions (BN, PH, or Perikatan Nasional) or even Pejuang, would form the next Johor state government.

The answer may lie in some highly-anticipated contests in eight hot seats.

Political analysts Azmi Hassan of Akademi Nusantara, Oh Ei Sun of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs and Awang Azman Pawi of Universiti Malaya weigh in on the likely winners.

Gambir
Former prime minister Muhyiddin Yassin’s decision to not defend the seat he won in 2018 surprised some observers, with PN’s Solihan Badri seeking to fill the Bersatu president’s shoes. Solihan, a former executive councillor, will be challenged by BN’s Shahrihan Jani, PKR’s Naim Jusri and Pejuang’s Suraya Sulaiman for the seat. Muhyiddin had won with only a 3,088 majority in 2018, hardly a landslide. While it is a Malay majority seat, nearly 40% of voters there are Chinese, giving them a huge say on who takes Gambir.

Analysts’ verdict:
Azmi: BN
Oh: PKR
Awang Azman: BN

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