Disunited opposition is why Najib, the ‘political magician’ will win GE14

In addition, an Asean Today report says, the 1MDB scandal will have little impact on voters as they have not been personally affected by graft allegations against the PM.

KUALA LUMPUR: The Barisan Nasional, led by Prime Minister Najib Razak, will win the next general election.

According to a report in Asean Today this is mainly because the opposition is disunited. Another reason is Najib’s continued support for the special position of the Malays which virtually guarantees the vote of the rural Malays.

The report also said that scandals, such as the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) fiasco, would have little impact because voters had not been personally affected by allegations of corruption against him.

Also, it said, Umno’s core voters, the rural poor, might be more concerned about bread and butter issues than corruption and economic strategies.

Asean Today quoted Oh Ei Sun, Najib’s political secretary from 2009 to 2011, as saying “perhaps they are more amenable to material attractions, simply because they are poor”.

The report said it would take more than an alliance between Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Anwar Ibrahim to unseat Najib. Although some have described the partnership as historic, it may not be enough for the disunited opposition to take Putrajaya.

It said that Pakatan Harapan (PH) had a severe leadership crisis, as exemplified by the appointment of a de facto leader (Anwar), president (Anwar’s wife Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail) and a chairman (Mahathir). It is unclear who is calling the shots.

Having three leaders instead of one also sends a message to the electorate that the leadership crisis is unresolved. On the other hand, Najib is calling the shots in both the BN and Umno.

The report quoted academic Ahmad Martadha Mohamed of Universiti Utara Malaysia as saying:“What’s the point of naming three leaders when all you need is one? It shows there is still a leadership crisis that hasn’t been solved.”

The report noted that there were differences in policies or strategies between the components of PH.

It quoted an unnamed “senior figure” in PH as saying: “Should we win, I don’t know what will happen. We come from different groups, and we have different ideas on what a post-Barisan country would look like. I hope that time will bring us closer.”

Pakatan Harapan would need to define its vision for Malaysia and appoint a leader. Otherwise, the report said, Najib will win GE14.

The Asean Today report said that Najib was a “political magician” who had always managed to contain the situation and retain political support. - FMT