KUALA LUMPUR — Political bickering within Pakatan Harapan (PH) and its inability to implement sound policies as enshrined in their campaign manifesto will result in a possible GE15 loss, analysts have warned.
Pundits also believe that rural voters may gravitate towards voting for Umno and PAS, should PH fail to implement economic policies that can address the wealth inequality among different groups of society.
Professor Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) believes that despite PH’s best intentions of reforming the government, it has allowed the political squabbles between its allies to overshadow its main agenda.
“The political manoeuvrings behind closed doors where the direction of the country, especially the transition of power, is being decided by a few, doesn’t augur well with the spirit of PH.
Ahmad Fauzi also cautioned on alleged attempts to form secret pacts to oppose the ruling government, saying that this can lead to political turmoil and chaos.
“If these dark forces are successful in forging their alliances behind secret pacts, whether in PH or BN… then Malaysia will tumble into chaos. May God save the country,” he said.
Senior fellow of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs, Oh Ei Sun said the issue of unchecked wealth gap among different socioeconomic groups is another crucial matter in need of attention.
“If PH doesn’t devise effective plans to ensure that the fruits of its labour are more evenly distributed across socioeconomic strata, it will soon find itself mired in double jeopardy.
“The rich will tend to gravitate more to the current Opposition, especially Umno, for the ‘good old days’ of collusion between politicians and businessmen, for the benefit of both, but not the masses,” he said when contacted.
Oh also warned of a possible voting pattern concentrated along racial-lines among the poor, as a consequence.
“Many of the poor will be more attracted to the extremist religious appeal of PAS. In either case, it will add to PH’s woes, as it in the first place did not enjoy the wide support of the majority conservative voters,” he said.
Oh’s sentiment resonated with that of Dr P. Sivamurugan from USM, who also projected a race-based voting interest in the 15th general election, adding that PH must reflect on its election manifesto.
However, Sivamurugan felt that it would still not be a walkover for Umno, even with misgivings over PH’s dismal performance, given Barisan Nasional’s own baggage.
“PH is facing a crisis of confidence and trust. It’s a wakeup call for PH to revisit their manifesto and look into factors that contributed to their win.
“Next election will be tough for both if held tomorrow.
“At some constituencies, and depends how it’s played during campaigning period,” he said to a question on the prediction of increased race-centred votes.
On Wednesday, PPBM’s policy and strategy bureau chief Datuk Rais Husin Mohamed Arif said that the PH government is in serious danger of losing the next general elections, as they appear to have stopped listening to the public after one year in Putrajaya.
He had said that PH needs to address five key issues if it is to retain its hold on power, pointing to the cost of living, quality of living and jobs as the main unaddressed issues.
Rais also trained his guns on the Cabinet’s focus on bringing in Indonesia-based motorcycle e-hailing service provider, Go-Jek, which he lamented would only work towards the creation of a low-income nation, as opposed to the government’s vision.
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad has admitted weakness in communicating the success of its policies as the reason behind PH’s dwindling popularity among the public.
Political analyst Prof Azmi Hassan says that what is currently afflicting PH is a case of a sore lack of ideas in devising policies, as opposed to the habit of not listening to the public.
Azmi also agreed with Oh and Sivamurugan that PH would lose in the national polls if it is held immediately, however he felt this would still not guarantee a comeback for Umno.
“When Rais used the flying car and Go-Jek examples to demonstrate the state of PH government I think it’s only a minute example of what Rais is trying to portray that is the incompetence of the current government.
“This perception I think lead to the rise of Umno-PAS cooperation, where it was well received since the people who support the cooperation see Umno-PAS as more reliable than PH.
“To answer the question if elections were to be held today I can confidently say that PH will not be the next government, but I can’t say that Umno-PAS will be the next government after today’s election,” he said when contacted.
Azmi also blamed the parties within PH for nominating “wrong candidates” for ministerial positions, and not Dr Mahathir.
“I don’t blame the PM for picking the unsuitable ministers but the blame lies on the individual parties in PH who nominate the wrong candidates for ministerial positions. Most of the candidates are proposed based on their party position and not because of their respective capabilities,” he added. – MALAY MAIL
Pakatan will still win if elections held today, says Dr Mahathir
BARISAN Nasional will still lose if the general election is held now, said Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
“Although people say we will lose if we have elections today, we are confident we will win again. Nobody wants Najib Razak to lead again as he has taken a lot of money,” said the Pakatan Harapan chairman after chairing the coalition’s presidential meeting, in Kuala Lumpur, today.
He said although the naysayers were predicting defeat for PH due to the negative public sentiment, he believed the government had not done anything wrong.
“We discussed it and found that we have done no wrong but our communication is weak. We also found that when we talk to the press about our successes, the media asks about controversies.
“We found that there are quarters that raise race and religious issues and this can be resolved by the cabinet. But because there are too many reports that cause anger, a small issue has been blown out of proportion and has split Malaysians,” said Dr Mahathir, on the eve of Malaysia’s 62nd Independence Day.
Malaysia, said Dr Mahathir, was by and large a peaceful country and Malaysians should be thankful for that.
“These extreme parties should be thankful that Malaysia is a peaceful country. Although there are race and religious problems, they are not serious compared to other multiracial countries that fight wars over them.
“These countries fight among themselves because of extremists.
“If we and the media allow ourselves to be influenced by the extremists by inflaming racial tensions, we will become like those in the Middle East. If we play with race and religious issues, we will be at war with one another and become like them.”
That PH leaders were responsible for some of the racial rhetoric was due to lack of comprehension, he said.
“At times, the grassroots leaders don’t understand the issues at hand and are vocal.”
He said the government would hold more discussions with the media so that it understood the situation.
“We have decided to communicate more with the media so that Malaysians understand that we are really a peaceful country despite our diversity.”
It is hoped that the media would highlight the fact, he said.
He said the media should compare Malaysia to the countries that had war because of minor differences in the interpretation of religion instead of comparing it to countries that were at peace such as the United States.
“But even America has its racial issues.”
Bersatu Supreme Council member Dr Rais Husin had recently told a forum that PH would lose should a snap election be held today because of the Umno-PAS alliance. Dr Mahathir yesterday said the PH component party, which he chairs, could take action against Rais for making such comments
Asked today if the PH presidential council had discussed Rais’ fate in the party, Dr Mahathir said the matter was not raised. THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT
MALAY MAIL / THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT
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2019-08-31 01:40:27Z
https://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/?p=172887
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