COMMENT | I have been following the Johor state election quite closely on the ground.

Out of all the years and multiple elections that I have followed and reported on, this is the first time I have been directly involved in a campaign. Before this, it has always been as a journalist, but this time around, in full transparency, I am helping the Layang-Layang candidate Maszlee Malik.

What I have noticed is that a local state election runs differently than a federal general election in many aspects. The most obvious difference is the minute detail when it comes to local issues.

Going around the constituency of Layang-Layang this past week, I learned that the locals don’t care much for general issues like 1MDB or ultra-corruption cases. Old news, they say.

What they do care about is the...