Chinese Voters in Malaysia's Johor Prioritize Affordability

In Malaysia’s Johor, Chinese voters prize affordability over politics

Koo can see Johor changing around him, even if the promised wealth has not reached his bank account. The 30-year-old service worker has lived for 25 years in Skudai, a busy Johor Bahru suburb anchored by universities, older housing estates and the kind of Chinese shoplot economy that helped make the Democratic Action Party (DAP) a force in Malaysia’s southern state. He sees cranes, rail works and projects built by Chinese companies. But before Saturday’s state election, and as the China-linke...

By Iman Muttaqin Yusof