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

Johor UMNO Liaison Committee deputy chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan said that with a total of 66,000 voters and 29 polling centres, the machinery must work hard to meet as many voters as possible during the campaign period.

‘Unlike the Nenggiri state constituency where 99 per cent of the voters are Malay, the ethnic composition in Mahkota is different. In Mahkota, the voter breakdown is approximately 54 per cent Malay, 35 per cent Chinese, and about eight per cent 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.

Additionally, Ahmad said that 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 is equipped with all the facilities. This means it is open to social media criticism and attacks,’ he said.

Therefore, he hopes that the party machinery that will be mobilised 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 assemblyman, Datuk Sharifah Azizah Syed Zain, 63, on Aug 2.

Source: BERNAMA News Agency