‘PERCEPTION WAR COST PH TANJUNG PIAI’
Think tank says BN highlighted PH’s shortcomings, no clear leadership
PAKATAN Harapan’s failure to overcome the perception war had cost them the win in the recent Tanjung Piai by-election, according to think-tank Ilham Centre.
Its fellow, Associate Professor Dr Hamidin Abdul Hamid, credited Barisan Nasional’s major victory to its ability to elaborate on the ruling coalition’s shortcomings since it took over 18 months ago.
“It was a perception knockout for PH in terms of policy and delivery. People on the ground don’t see any changes.
“During the campaigning period, there was no clear leadership by PH. There was a leadership vacuum in PH.
“Even their machinery in district voting centres was unsure who from PH was leading them,” he said at a seminar to discuss the Tanjung Piai by-election results in Universiti Malaya here yesterday.
Hamidin added that PH appeared to lack cohesion, while BN was able to work as a unit.
It was BN’s 60 years of legacy and experience, he said, that gave the opposition the edge.
“BN managed to dominate most of the current issues and portrayed PH’s lack of direction, especially when it came to breadand-butter issues like the cost of living.”
He said it was also apparent that PH’s speakers at ceramah could not win over crowds, and that their machinery did not help much with this.
“Their machinery or speakers cannot talk. They were not able to counter hits made by BN. It was a total knockout,” Hamidin added.
He warned that PH’s dismal performance in Tanjung Piai would not be their last if PH did not take vital measures to change the perception of the people.
Hamidin, however, disagreed with the notion that BN’s victory in Tanjung Piai would signal a win for the 15th General Election.
He said while the huge win gave them good momentum, the opposition coalition needed to define a clear path for Muafakat Nasional.
“With MCA’s win, it has made them relevant and created a new scenario in Malaysia’s politics.
“(So) the role of component parties in BN should be reviewed. BN will need a new narrative and figure out how they will move forward with Pas, and PH would need to go back to the drawing board.”
Meanwhile, Ilham Centre head of research Dr Mohd Yusri Ibrahim claimed that the people’s anger towards the government would increase, especially after it implements the targeted fuel subsidy scheme, which would be launched in January.
The PH government, he said, appeared to not have an effective mechanism to tackle the negative perception that was played up by the opposition.
“Issues such as the targeted fuel subsidy will affect the people’s already diminishing support towards the PH government, and will further impact their popularity,” Yusri said.
“It seems as if the government has no formula to counter the claims made by the opposition, and the protest by the people will be shown through the ballot box.”
He said Tanjung Piai voters, particularly the Chinese, were generally unhappy with unfulfilled election pledges, poor communication and the state of the country’s economy.
“People are angry about unfulfilled manifesto promises such as abolishing tolls, PTPTN (National Higher Education Fund Corporation), while most of the Chinese are saying that the current economy is not conducive for business.”
He added that the Chinese vote bank went to BN, despite court cases plaguing BN leaders and their partnership with Pas.
Hence the biggest sway, Yusri added, came from the Chinese, proving that the ruling coalition’s hold on them was not as secure as previously thought.
“PH lost 40.5 per cent of Chinese votes, with BN gaining 30.4 per cent from GE14. PH only lost 5.1 per cent of the Malay votes,” he said.
BN’s Datuk Seri Dr Wee Jeck Seng won the Nov 16 by-election with a huge 15,086 majority. Wee was two-term Tanjung Piai member of parliament since 2008 but lost to PH’s Datuk Dr Md Farid Md Rafik by 524 votes in the May 9 general election last year.
The seat fell vacant after Dr Farid, who was also deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, died on Sept 21 due to heart complications.
In the by-election, PH candidate Karmaine Sardini obtained 10,380 votes, Gerakan’s Wendy Subramaniam garnered 1,707 votes and Berjasa candidate Datuk Dr Badhrulhisham Abdul Aziz polled 850 votes.