KUALA LUMPUR – During the recent Johor state election campaign, a July 7 rally in Parit Raja outside Batu Pahat drew fewer than 100 people despite the presence of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia president Muhyiddin Yassin. The poor turnout was especially embarrassing for the former prime minister and one of Johor’s longest-serving menteri besars.

Elsewhere, Bersatu candidates even resorted to campaign posters highlighting personal qualities such as being “married” and “loyal” – an unconventional appeal that underscored the party’s struggle to capture voters’ attention.

The scenes illustrated the challenges facing Bersatu as it heads into the Negeri Sembilan state election on Aug 1.

A party that once appeared to be on an unstoppable rise now faces what analysts say could be its defining electoral test. Bersatu must prove it can remain politically relevant on its own after a bitter fallout with Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) effectively left it outside Perikatan Nasional (PN), while the emergence of splinter party Parti Wawasan Negara has further exposed fractures within its ranks.

Merdeka Center for Opinion Research programmes director Ibrahim Suffian told The Straits Times: “Whether Bersatu will remain a potent (political) force, I have my doubts.”

Johor offers an uncomfortable benchmark. In the constituencies it contested in the recent polls,