Mahkota polls: BN must address 3 main challenges - Ahmad Maslan

The large number of voters, ethnic composition and social media are among the three main challenges the BN machinery needs to address to defend the Mahkota state seat in the upcoming by-election.

Johor Umno deputy chief Ahmad Maslan said that with 66,000 voters and 29 polling centres, the machinery must work hard to meet as many voters as possible during the campaign.

“Unlike the Nenggiri state constituency where 99 percent of the voters are Malay, the ethnic composition in Mahkota is different.

“In Mahkota, the voter breakdown is approximately 54 percent Malay, 35 percent Chinese and about eight percent Indian.

“This leads to the second challenge, which is the ethnic breakdown, meaning the machinery needs to deal with different thought patterns according to each ethnic group,” he told Bernama.

Social media factor

Additionally, Ahmad said the biggest challenge that could undermine the BN candidate’s chances in this by-election is social media reach.

“In Mahkota, we do not face infrastructure challenges as development is complete in the area.

“Another challenge is social media because the area has all the facilities. This means it is open to social media criticism and attacks,” he said.

Therefore, Ahmad hoped that the party machinery will be more active in addressing local and national issues on social media to garner voter support.

The Election Commission has set Sept 28 as polling day for the by-election in Johor, while the nomination and early voting dates are Sept 14 and 24, respectively.

The by-election was called following the death of the incumbent assemblyperson, Sharifah Azizah Syed Zain, 63, on Aug 2.

- Bernama

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