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Ministers may lose in GE14 if Felda's kingmakers switch sides

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FOCUS The opposition is hard at work in Felda settlements, hoping to win over the hardcore BN supporters in 55 Parliament seats in order to aid its quest to capture Putrajaya.

But just how significant would the impact be, if the opposition does make significant in-roads in Felda settlements?

While a major shift is highly unlikely, Felda settlers have shown that their allegiance to BN is not blind and that they will vote for the opposition should their interests be affected.

In the May 2015 Rompin by-election, a year after the goods and services tax (GST) was implemented, there was almost a 10 percent swing from BN to the opposition in several Felda voting districts.

This is even higher than the swing among non-Felda voters, which stood at between three and six percent.

Assuming it will be straight fights, like in Rompin, a similar 10 percent shift among Felda voters in other seats will be enough for the opposition to capture three constituencies from BN - Bentong, Bera and Labis.

These constituencies are significant, given the high profile of their incumbents.

Bentong is held by MCA president and Transport Minister Liow Tiong Lai, Bera by Rural and Regional Development Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob and the Labis MP is Deputy International Trade and Industry Minister Chua Tee Yong...

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