Malaysia Votes 2018

Battle for the hearts and minds of Chinese in Johor

The opposition DAP is upbeat about its chances but the MCA has not sat still either

In Iskandar Puteri, local MCA chief Jason Teoh (above), who is challenging DAP leader Lim Kit Siang, believes his community ties - he has lived there all his life - will give him an edge.
In Iskandar Puteri, local MCA chief Jason Teoh (above), who is challenging DAP leader Lim Kit Siang, believes his community ties - he has lived there all his life - will give him an edge. ST PHOTO: ZAIHAN MOHAMED YUSOF
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At a night-time rally in the south Johor town of Kulai last week, opposition supporters turned up in red shirts emblazoned with a subtly altered common Chinese New Year greeting that read: "May regime change come to pass."

A month earlier, Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) deputy chief Wee Ka Siong had lambasted the pact by Chinese-majority Democratic Action Party (DAP) to work with its former nemesis Mahathir Mohamad, saying: "They are not an alliance of hope (Pakatan Harapan). They are an alliance of hypocrisy."

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A version of this article appeared in the print edition of The Straits Times on May 02, 2018, with the headline Battle for the hearts and minds of Chinese in Johor. Subscribe