BARISAN Nasional lost the 14th general election (GE14) because the then-opposition Pakatan Harapan pact bred a culture of hatred towards Najib Razak and his administration, said Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
“When a culture of hate is nurtured so strongly, it really bites into the minds of the people.
“It is in this situation, that the wave against BN came about. Najib’s last speech in Pekan offered more items that were not in the BN manifesto but it was too late.
“The feeling of wanting to change the government was too strong and it has to be acknowledged that the opposition had centred their attacks against Najib.
“They had planted hate (against him) and it worked,” Zahid said at his office in Yayasan Al-Falah in Kajang.
In the candid and frank interview with The Malaysian Insight, the 66-year-old spoke about the reasons BN had lost Putrajaya after 61 years of continuous rule.
“Although we knew there was an undercurrent of (negative) sentiments, we felt that the silent majority would remain with BN.
“Maybe, this was a reading that we could not see but Umno’s victory was quite clear although BN lost.
“A political wave had taken place and we have to accept the reality that a proper transfer of power had to take place in accordance with the federal constitution,” said the former deputy prime minister.
Below are excerpts of the interview:
TMI: Did you think BN would lose GE14?
A: Before elections, we did a few empirical studies and very structured questionnaires that criss-crossed target groups and observations.
Although there was an undercurrent of (negative) sentiments, we felt that the silent majority would remain with BN.
Maybe, this was a reading that we could not see but Umno’s victory was quite clear although BN lost. As such, the results only gave us 79 seats compared to the 113 won by the then opposition coalition.
A political wave had taken place and we have to accept the reality that a proper transfer of power had to take place in accordance with the federal constitution. Any party that had the majority had to form the government.
Although, certain quarters were predicting a riot after the fall of BN, it didn’t happen and democracy worked on May 9.
TMI: What were the reasons for the anti-establishment sentiments?
A: The cost-of-living issues raised by the opposition and their promises to lower the cost of petrol and writing off of PTPTN and Felda settlers’ loans.
These were some of the issues that were played up. Something which the current government is unable to resolve or honour still.
TMI: Weren’t 1Malaysia Development Bhd (1MDB) and PM’s unpopularity critical issues in GE14, too?
A: Although the 1MDB issue was a big issue among the opposition, the grassroots voters did not think it was an important problem. The same goes for the question about the national leadership.
Closer to their hearts was the problem of daily expenses and when there were promises for an improvement to their daily lives, they changed their political alliances.
The voters hoped that their lives would improve with the change of government.
TMI: Why was cost of living still an issue if the GDP during the BN administration was fairly high?
A: The consumer price index showed an increase in cost of living but it’s not as high as now. This shows when there was a switch from GST to SST, there was no change to the price of goods.
When the tax system was changed, the CPI even went up.
And this caused investor confidence, both domestic and international, to drop even further, causing the GDP to fall drastically. Although the fundamentals were still strong, investors’ sentiments dropped.
The national income had also fallen after the removal of GST, which used to be RM40 billion a year while SST has not been able to reduce costs but has lowered government income.
People’s expectations of lower costs etc have now changed to anger.
A recent poll showed that support has dropped to 39% from a high of 80%. The reality for most people today is that the economy is not growing while high costs have remained. Their pre-election hopes have not been realised and the cost of living problems are still there.
TMI: Did you sense that BN could lose during the campaign itself?
A: Many of us could not read the undercurrent sentiments and there was only one independent survey that said the anti-government sentiments were very strong.
There were several last-minute steps taken by the government but they were too late.
THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT
Hmmm! They planted hate on you as well right! Well your turned to be on trial is by the corner. But first enjoyed your bossku trial and see whether it is hatred or fact on trial. Yours will follow suite soon. Wish you all the bad luck. What comes around goes around. Be prepared for your long overdue vacation at Bamboo River Resort together with your bossku. Remember what you said after the night your bossku sack TSM and appointed you. Let me refresh your memory.
ReplyDeleteYou said "you became Deputy Prime Minister with the blessing of Allah" but actually it was a trap by his Almighty set upon you so that you show your true color and indeed he was always right. Have you met the Tok Arab? You have been insulting your inteligence by trying to insult ours. Damn Carrot.