Why Dr M-led Pakatan Harapan won GE14
Pakatan Harapan winning the 14th General Election (GE14), the political scenario is in for a transformation. This analysis presents two observations why this happened.
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who is PH chairman, has always been a pace-setter, arranging deals and managing opportunities in politics, economics and foreign policies.
Dr Mahathir has done much to put Malaysia on the world map. Some scholars say that he has achieved many things under the rubric of “nationalism, capitalism, Islam, populism and authoritarianism”.
One even coined the word Mahathirism to describe the seventh prime minister’s ideas and paradoxes.
It is difficult to deny Dr Mahathir’s role in GE14’s outcome.
If Umno wants to continue representing Malays, it has to accept the new reality and change with the times.
We have seen attempts to unseat the previous government by linking it to issues surrounding 1Malaysia Development Bhd.
Umno failed to do three things: revisit its core segment, regain the trust of members and revamp its leadership.
Its core supporters — the lifeline of support and energy of the party — have been moving away.
The impact of social media on its supporters put Umno in a quandary. It refused to accept the fact that social media had reduced Umno’s ability to attract urban Malays.
The last straw was when the party could not mount a credible response to the Bersih 2 initiative for institutional reforms and civil liberties and Pakatan Harapan bringing