More Johor voters are likely to vote - as no restrictions now

GE15: The lifting of Covid-19 movement restrictions in place during the Johor state elections last March is likely to boost voters turnout on Nov 19, according to Pakatan Harapan's Johor Bahru candidate Akmal Nasir.

In particular,  the former PKR Youth chief (above) cited the reopening of land borders between Johor Bahru and Singapore as a key factor towards improving the previous overall 55 percent turnout rate.

"The forced state election was held during the pandemic, with limited movements across states and across countries.

"Given the situation, many who are studying or working outside of Johor, including in Singapore, did not make it back to vote," said Akmal. who is defending his Johor Bahru Parliament seat against BN, PN and Pejuang.

This time around, Akmal said, it would be reasonable to expect a higher turnout rate, amid concerns over the impact of voters' fatigue from a series of political upheavals leading up to the Johor parliamentary elections.

"In my view, there are still challenges we need to overcome to increase the voters' turnout.

"But because of our current conditions, I do not think that the same situation in March will repeat itself," he said when met at PKR's main operations centre in Larkin, Johor Bahru.

"This is for the simple fact that restrictions in place at the time are no longer relevant today," said Akmal.

Further, he noted announcements made by several state governments, including Harapan-held Selangor and Negeri Sembilan, to grant an extra public holiday on the eve of polling day will further boost the turnout numbers.

Johor Harapan leaders had previously attributed the low turnout rate as a factor to the coalition's dismal performance, with  PKR and Amanah losing a number of seats to Barisan Nasional that formed the new state government, with 40 out of 56 seats.

Among others, BN's Mohd Hairi Mad Shah captured the Larkin state seat, one of two seats under the Johor Bahru parliamentary constituency, previously won by Bersatu in GE14 as part of Harapan.

Johor Bahru is one of five seats across southern Johor, all won by Harapan in GE14, along with the adjacent Kulai parliamentary seat.

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