Voon: BN win in Semenyih not a disaster for PH

KUCHING: The resounding victory of Barisan Nasional ( BN) in the Semenyih by- election is not a disaster to Pakatan Harapan ( PH) but will serve as a good lesson from the ground to the decision and law makers of PH, said PKR National Women vice president Voon Shiak Ni.

According to her, one of the reasons for the coalition’s defeat in Semenyih was that PH had yet to effectively solve problems faced by the people after taking over as the new government nine months ago.

“People on the ground are frustrated as they expected their lives would be better after ousting BN. But recently, some of PH’s policies have not been very ‘peoplefriendly’ such as the Bantuan Sara Hidup ( BSH) where recipients are getting less from what they received under BR1M,” she said in a statement yesterday.

She revealed that the overall consensus of the rakyat at this point is that PH has yet to reach their expectation and this gave BN the ammunition it needed to provoke the voters.

“Under these circumstances, there is an urgent need for PH to recover and strengthen the socioeconomy of the country in order to gain the people’s trust back.

“PH top leaders and the Cabinet need to focus on what the layman needs and to formulate policies which can benefit the people on the ground directly,” she advised, adding that the focus should be on boosting the economy and not so much on introducing unnecessary new policies.

On a positive note, Voon said the people in Sarawak are happy that upgrading works on hospitals in Miri, Lawas and Limbang are now in the pipeline and are in the 2019 Budget which was recently announced by Works Minister Baru Bian.

“As a PH leader in Sarawak, I do acknowledge that public healthcare facilities, public welfare services and the issue regarding cost of living are the core problems affecting the people on the ground. If PH can exercise due efforts to improve and provide better services and facilities in these areas, the people will be duly served.”