SHAH ALAM, April 5 — Darul Ehsan Institute (IDE) predicted today that Johor will likely remain under Barisan Nasional (BN), but projected Pakatan Harapan (PH) would win Kedah, Melaka and Negri Sembilan.
The Selangor state government think tank said Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia’s (PPBM) influence rested solely on its chairman and former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
“Johor, I see that BN still has the hold,” IDE deputy chairman Prof Datuk Mohammad Redzuan Othman told a press conference here.
Redzuan said PPBM president and ex-deputy prime minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, who is from Johor, did not possess “charismatic leadership” qualities to rival that of Dr Mahathir.
“That’s why I said, the Mahathir factor in Kedah can bring the downfall of Kedah, but Muhyiddin can’t equate his,” he added.
Selangor and Penang are led by PKR and DAP respectively, while Kelantan is under PAS.
Johor is set to be the frontline battleground state in the 14th general election, as PH, led by PPBM, seeks to unseat BN from the birthplace of Umno.
PPBM will be contesting in all of Johor’s parliament and state seats, except those in Sekijang, Kluang, Batu Pahat and Bakri.
The bulk of 18 state seats under PPBM points to the party’s goal to secure the state and form the next state government for PH.
In the 13th general election in 2013, then-Pakatan Rakyat (PR) comprising DAP, PKR and PAS made huge inroads into BN’s so-called “fixed deposit” state.
BN lost in five of the 26 parliamentary constituencies and 18 of the 56 state seats in Johor that year, in contrast to the single parliamentary seat and six state seats won by Opposition parties in the 2008 general election.
Johor consists of 26 parliamentary constituencies and 56 state seats, making it the second largest state in terms of seats in Malaysia.
