In Puteri Wangsa, Anwar loyalist Maszlee haunted by the past as he fights uphill battle in Muda's turf

From bumbling policies during the shortest tenure as education minister, to becoming a spokesman for a fast food brand later targeted by a worldwide anti-Israel boycott campaign, and then being embroiled over a sexually charged dialogue as a Malay drama actor – the past keeps haunting Maszlee Malik as he vies to make a political comeback in the coming Johor polls.

Maszlee, who served for about 20 months under Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s second term, only to be forced to step down by the then veteran prime minister who was unhappy with his performance, is part of a crowded contest in Puteri Wangsa, a state seat with an electorate as big as, if not bigger than, many parliamentary constituencies across the nation.

Since his exit from the academic world, and despite a disastrous career in politics that began with his joining Mahathir’s Bersatu just two months before the 2018 elections that ended 60 years of Barisan Nasional rule, Maszlee seems bent on reinventing himself.

Maszlee's only political success came while riding on the euphoria of Mahathir’s historic return in 2018, when he won the Simpang Renggam parliamentary seat.

After his Cabinet exit, he quickly aligned himself with Anwar Ibrahim, becoming one of the Pakatan Harapan chief’s most loyal supporters.

Despite losing both the Simpang Renggam federal seat and the Layang-Layang state seat in the 2022 general election, Maszlee’s loyalty did not go unrewarded.

Now, as Johor goes to the polls on July 11, it is hard to tell whether Anwar’s decision to field Maszlee again as a PH candidate is meant to reward him or to consign him to oblivion.

The 51-year-old may be heading for another disastrous outing, with all indications favouring a win for Muda’s candidate, Rashifa Aljunied, a 26-year-old who is familiar with the constituents, having worked with the incumbent Amira Aisya Abd Aziz, who is also her party boss.

The presence of Barisan Nasional’s candidate from MCA, 42-year-old Teow Chia Ling, Bersama’s 35-year-old Nicholas Paul Vincent, and a 49-year-old independent does not pose much of a threat to Muda in defending the seat. 

These factors, coupled with the deliberate absence of Perikatan Nasional, mean it is effectively a two-way contest between PH and Muda in Puteri Wangsa, a constituency where 35% of the electorate are aged below 30.

It is not clear why PH settled on a candidate like Maszlee in a seat where 50% of the electorate are Chinese.

When he was education minister, he came under criticism from Chinese education groups for introducing khat writing (Malay-Arabic calligraphy) as part of the school curriculum, despite many other more urgent reforms being left wanting. It was also what forced Mahathir to take over from Maszlee after forcing him out.

Maszlee’s other pet project – transitioning school students nationwide from wearing white shoes to black shoes – has often sparked sarcastic comments from former prime minister Najib Razak, who cited it as an example of superficial reforms in the education sector.

“He introduced black shoes but in the end, he was made a black sheep,” Najib once quipped soon after Maszlee’s resignation in 2020.

As MP for Simpang Renggam from 2018 to 2022, Maszlee’s credibility took a further beating, with many voters saying he had done little aside from bringing McDonald’s to the area.

In October 2020, Maszlee said he was grateful to have brought the fast food giant to Simpang Renggam, and that he hoped it would create employment opportunities for the locals.

But fast-forward three years, when McDonald’s and other Western brands became the target of an international anti-Israel boycott, Maszlee’s contribution to the area was redundant, especially to Malay-Muslim voters there.

On social media, many also replayed a clip featuring him in a cameo role in a Malay drama series, in which Maszlee’s line bordered on profanity degrading women. Just two months after his apology, he was appointed chairman of the International Institute of Advanced Islamic Studies (IAIS), a government-funded Islamic think tank started by former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, but which is now filled with Anwar loyalists.

He also doubled as adviser to the prime minister on global Muslim affairs, serving in the role by promoting Anwar as a global Muslim leader. Just two weeks after the US-Israeli attack on Iran, Maszlee penned an essay littered with praise for the PKR leader, describing him as the leader of “post-war Muslim reconciliation”.

As the Puteri Wangsa campaign gathers momentum, Maszlee has denied claims that he did nothing when he was the Simpang Renggam MP.

In recent days, he has taken pains to present himself as people-centric through TikTok videos, including one where he drives a Perodua Myvi to check potholes in a Puteri Wangsa neighbourhood.

On his website, he has posted hundreds of photographs showing him meeting constituents and attending programmes, many of which were taken during his 2022 general election campaign.

This time around, his election promises include a pledge to create more jobs to lure Malaysians back to work in Johor, and to make home ownership more affordable.

Rashifa’s goals, meanwhile, are more specific and reflect realistic expectations of a state representative.

She listed three pledges: to conduct town hall meetings directly with residents, to ensure an end to the occurrence of floods in the constituency, and to provide free tuition for students.

Muda’s choice of Rashifa is inevitable. From a community volunteer who helped Amira’s election campaign in 2022, she later became her special officer at the age of 22.

Amira, who is vying for a parliamentary seat in the next general election, is personally campaigning for her replacement.

“Rashifa works morning, evening, day and night for the people here. I have full trust and confidence that Rashifa will continue to give her best for Puteri Wangsa,” she said.