FELDA and rural voting patterns in GE14 – a wake-up call

Abstract

ABSTRACT This article examines the electoral performance of UMNO-BN in rural Peninsular Malaysia in the landmark 14th General Election (GE14), specifically in and around Federal Land Development Authority (FELDA) areas. FELDA settlers have long been the key rural support base of the coalition. In GE14, UMNO-BN saw its support in FELDA and nearby rural areas fall amidst a strong anti-establishment vote and a surge in access to social media. The results show that UMNO-BN more easily retained its core FELDA parliament seats in Pahang and eastern Johor, but lost 27 of an estimated 53 FELDA seats and kept 18 seats thanks mostly to the vote split between PAS and newcomer Bersatu. Despite dubious deals and settler gripes, an examination of detailed results shows that the relative strength of the FELDA vote for UMNO-BN in Johor rose, but dipped slightly in Pahang (within the context of weaker support for UMNO-BN, especially among younger voters). The authors reviewed voting district-level data by voting streams for FELDA and near FELDA areas, conducted 50 semi-structured interviews, analysed income data, and considered online data indicators for key issues that include cost of living/GST, and the return of Mahathir.