These were the only two elections which saw the opposition coalition fielding a party that was unfamiliar or non-traditional in Sri Gading.
Since the time of Hussein Onn, who was Malaysia’s third prime minister and Sri Gading’s first MP back in 1974, it had been either PAS or the now-defunct Semangat 46 that stood against Umno there.
The highest number of votes garnered by an opposition party was in 1999, when then-PAS member Khalid Abdul Samad bagged 11,598 votes out of 40,754, with Umno’s Mohamad Aziz enjoying 29,156 votes.
The constituency remains an Umno stronghold although in GE13, the opposition managed to close the gap.
Despite winning by a reduced majority in the last election, incumbent Abd Aziz Kaprawi is confident of retaining the seat if he is fielded by Umno in the constituency.
The deputy transport minister knows that his opponent from PPBM is likely to be an unfamiliar face to Sri Gading constituents and may not get their support.
“Even if it’s a three-cornered fight, based on my contributions to the constituency, I am ready to face the general election and contest against PPBM or PAS.
“I am a local boy, and I will work with the current local leaders to defend the seat and gain a higher majority.
“Even as a first-term MP, I brought a lot of development to Sri Gading. The constituency today is one of the most developed in Johor and we have the Umno leadership to thank for that,” he said when contacted.
Aziz’s contributions include the introduction of agricultural projects which started after he won the election in 2013.
It was also recently announced that Johor Corporation (JCorp), through its subsidiary Johor Land Berhad, would develop 2,659 houses including low-cost properties in Sri Gading. The houses are expected to be completed in 2019.
The project, to be developed in a 95.05ha area which will be known as Taman Mutiara Gading, will include the construction of the KPJ Specialist Hospital at a cost of about RM95 million.
“The development in Sri Gading today is proof that Barisan Nasional (BN) has fulfilled its promises to the people,” Aziz said.
Tariq Ismail Mustafa, the grandson of former deputy prime minister Ismail Abdul Rahman, is likely to be fielded as PPBM’s candidate for the Sri Gading parliamentary seat.
He was appointed as a division leader in October 2017.
Tariq acknowledges that Sri Gading will be a tough seat for PPBM as it has always been an Umno stronghold.
“We are targeting support from the youths aged between 21 and 39. This is because the views of voting stream 1 (50 years and above) and voting stream 2 (40-49) are more difficult to change.
“But now, there is a sense of anger towards BN,” he told FMT.
Tariq added that he would not back down if chosen by Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) central leadership to contest in Sri Gading.
Sri Gading is one of the 15 parliamentary constituencies that PH is hoping to wrest from BN in the 14th general election (GE14).
Although Aziz is confident of retaining the Sri Gading seat, it remains to be seen if he can obtain a higher majority.
In GE13, Aziz beat PKR’s Mohd Khuzzan Abu Bakar with a 5,761-vote majority.
This was a much smaller majority than that of his predecessor, Mohamad Aziz, who won by 10,874 votes over PKR’s Ali Markom in GE12.
Mohamad served as an assistant to Hussien Onn from 1981 to 1986 and was appointed as speaker of the Johor assembly after GE13.
In GE11, he won by 16,196 votes against PKR’s Dr Ahmad Faidhi Saidi.
According to GE13 data, Sri Gading has 44,816 voters comprising 63% Malays and 34% Chinese with the rest from other races.
MPs predict Dewan Rakyat will be dissolved in first week of April