Johor bahru: The burgeoning support for Pakatan Harapan (PH) in the Johor state election campaign is driven by the effectiveness of its campaign strategy. PH secretary-general Datuk Seri Saifuddin Nasution Ismail said PH 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.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Saifuddin Nasution explained that "grades" or ratings were given to ensure that specific focus could be channeled 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 reporters after having a breakfast session with the Chinese community and Puteri Wangsa candidate Dr Maszlee Malik.

Saifuddin Nasution, who is also PKR's joint election director, noted that the increase in support for PH was also aided by the opposition's political statements that gave PH an advantage. He cited the example of PAS's decision to contest only 11 seats and asking their supporters to back Barisan Nasional (BN) in other areas as a factor affecting support for PH.

Conversely, PH has taken a more transparent approach by clearly announcing seat distribution and offering a reasonable manifesto that could be implemented. "The convincing support pattern was contributed by the campaign strategy that was arranged by PH (and) political statements from the opposition," he said.

He further described the presence of former UMNO Supreme Council member Datuk Dr Mohd Puad Zarkashi at a series of talks with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim at Felda Ulu Tiram as adding value to PH's momentum. At the same time, he highlighted Maszlee as a qualified candidate and an important asset to PH if the coalition is given the mandate to form the state government after the Johor polls.

In this election, PH is fielding candidates in all 56 state seats consisting of 20 representatives from PKR, Amanah (19), and DAP (17). The Johor polls see a total of 172 candidates contesting, with polling day set for July 11, while early voting takes place on July 7.