JOHOR BAHRU, July 5 — The burgeoning support for Pakatan Harapan in the Johor state election campaign is driven by the effectiveness of its campaign strategy.
The coalition's secretary-general Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said Harapan is implementing its campaign strategy by classifying the 56 state seats being contested according to priority levels based on current support trends on the ground.
The "grades" or ratings were given to ensure that specific focus could be channelled to target areas based on the different profiles and challenges in each constituency.
"We graded the areas. From the beginning, (for example) Puteri Wangsa is certainly not the same as Johor Lama, for example, nor is Larkin the same as Endau.
"So we have several clusters of areas that have been given priority ratings," he told the media after a breakfast session with the Chinese community and Puteri Wangsa candidate Maszlee Malik today.
Saifuddin, who is also Parti Keadilan Rakyat's joint election director, said the increase in support for Harapan was also aided by the Opposition's political statements that gave Harapan an advantage.
He cited the example of PAS's actions in only contesting 11 seats and asking their supporters to support Barisan Nasional in other areas as a factor that affected support for Harapan.
In contrast, Harapan took a more transparent approach by clearly announcing the seat distribution and offering a reasonable, implementable manifesto.
"The convincing support pattern was contributed by the campaign strategy that was arranged by Harapan's political statements from the Opposition," he said.
He also described the presence of former UMNO Supreme Council member Datuk Mohd Puad Zarkashi at a series of talks with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim at Felda Ulu Tiram yesterday as adding to the coalition's momentum.
Saifuddin noted that Maszlee is a qualified candidate and an important asset to Harapan if it is given the mandate to form the state government after Johor polls.
In this election, Harapan is fielding candidates in all 56 state seats, consisting of 20 representatives from Keadilan, Parti Amanah (19), and DAP (17).
The Johor polls see a total of 172 candidates contesting, with polling day set for July 11 and early voting on July 7.
To get the latest news on the 16th Johor state election, visit https://prn.bernama.com/johor/.
