SPECIAL REPORT | The parliamentary seat of Pagoh, located downstream of the Muar river, has been an Umno fortress since its inception in 1974.

Due to the certainty of BN's victory there over the years, the constituency had often been overshadowed by battleground seats.

However, that changed when its MP Muhyiddin Yassin was sacked from Umno last year for dissenting against Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, who is embroiled in the 1MDB scandal.

Muhyiddin, now Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) president, will seek to end BN's winning streak in Pagoh in the 14th general election, but he will not be the first sacked deputy prime minister to attempt the feat.

There are some parallels between Pagoh and the once BN fortress of Permatang Pauh, which became a PKR (then Parti Keadilan Nasional) stronghold, following the sacking of Anwar Ibrahim as deputy prime minister in 1998.

Muhyiddin, like Anwar, is the second BN MP to have served their Malay-majority constituencies since the seats were created.

Both had also served for lengthy periods before their dismissal, with Anwar having been Permatang Pauh MP for 17 years. Muhyiddin, excluding a two-term gap when he was Johor menteri besar, had served 29 years as Pagoh MP when he was sacked.

If Muhyiddin can succeed in replicating Anwar's success, who did so through his wife Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, he will be able to do more damage by punching a hole in BN's "sphere of power".

Pagoh and its neighbouring parliamentary constituency – with the exception of opposition-held Bakri – have been known to be a stepping stone for BN leaders to acquire a seat in Putrajaya.

Four out of six BN parliamentary seats surrounding Pagoh see their incumbent holding the position of minister or deputy minister in the federal government.

The BN seats surrounding Pagoh in clockwise order are Ledang (Natural Resource and Environment Deputy Minister Hamim Samuri), Segamat (Health Minister S Subramaniam), Sekijang (Anuar Abd Manap), Labis (International Trade and Industry Deputy Minister Chua Tee Yong), Ayer Hitam (Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Wee Ka Siong), and Parit Sulong (Noraini Ahmad).

For many who call Pagoh home, they have been traditionally involved in the agriculture and plantations sector due to the constituency's proximity to the Muar river.

They also remember Muhyiddin as the man who used his influence as deputy prime minister and education minister to transform the constituency into a northern education hub for Johor through Bandar Universiti Pagoh...