Yoursay: Looks like voters place more faith in a ‘gang of bandits’

YOURSAY | ‘How appropriate the victory celebrations were led by Zahid Hamidi, Mat Hasan and Annuar Musa.’

Yoursay: Sabah Umno sees revival after BN takes Kimanis with bigger majority

Vijay47: Many will lay the blame on Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad but I say the responsibility should be distributed to his comrades-in-arms, especially DAP.

PKR almost never existed in the Kimanis by-election campaign, they were too busy fighting among themselves, busily imploding the alliance.

Bersatu was nothing more than Umno in new wineskin who crept into Pakatan Harapan in the belly of the wooden horse. But DAP? What happened to the “tiger cubs of Jelutong'' and the other erstwhile knights? How did Lim Kit Siang reduce himself to a King Lear wandering lost in the wilderness?

I cannot bring myself to comment on Lim Guan Eng, the self-appointed saviour and treasury for Jakim (Department of Islamic Development).

I believe a failure or inability to fulfil the manifesto was not the supreme sin — any suitor will paint himself in the brightest colours, promising whiter than white, fresher than fresh. I must also grant that efforts had indeed been made towards that direction.

No, for me Harapan’s crime was that it discarded the principles we had been assured of, that race and religion will slowly be obliterated, and it is on this score that Harapan collapsed miserably.

Kimanis is a rural mainly Muslim constituency but even the non-Muslims returned to BN. Kimanis or Tanjung Piai, the message is similarly clear with the bigger slap in the face being that the voters placed their faith in a gang of bandits residing more in court than at home.

If tomorrow Mahathir steps aside for whoever to step in, God will not come down from heaven, Satan will still be in attendance and for as long as Harapan does not radically change its way, his legions will continue to rule the roost.

The people of Kimanis, Sabah, have made their choice. They can be sure poverty and backwardness will not desert them, the coat from the cloth they cut will prove most ill-fitting.

How appropriate the victory celebrations were led by peninsula’s Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Mohamad Hasan and Annuar Musa.

Anonymous_2679c6e5: This should have been a walk in the park for Warisan but it is now tainted with unhappiness over Harapan, particularly with the Bersatu leadership and PKR controversies.

Former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak has calculated well that he will get away (from prosecution over 1MDB and other financial scandals) if the Harapan government falls before or by the next general election. Then he will get his revenge on Mahathir and his family.

Newday: Please remember that this seat was won by BN in GE14. So no change, no matter how much mileage the opposition tries to make of it.

The Warisan candidate in GE14 rode a big wave of anti-BN/Najib sentiment and almost succeeded. Now? Normal transmission resumes for the two-term BN representative.

Yes, a BN win but nothing new in that. Harapan lost, but they lost in GE14 as well. So BN, don’t get too cocky in your celebrations.

The Wakandan: Harapan lost mainly because of people’s unhappiness with its policies which are mainly a continuation of BN’s policies. If the people rejected BN then, they would reject Harapan now.

Sabah Chief Minister Mohd Shafie Apdal is purportedly viewed with suspicion especially about the Pass Sementara Sabah (PSS) issue. People do not trust him with the PSS because it is alleged that the illegals are mainly his people and he has vested interest in wanting illegals to become citizens.

Harapan is naive in politics, which veteran BN politicians are taking advantage of. Broken promises by Harapan are plenty and they are seen as taking the people for a ride.

Promises were made just to get the votes with no intention to act on them. The culprit is Mahathir, he is the prime minister and the buck has to stop with him. No excuses.

Harapan is also ineffective when tasked with carrying out their plans and promises. The failure to give Sabah and Sarawak the promised oil royalty percentage and MA63 amendments are looked upon as Harapan’s insincerity.

However, this is just a by-election. It’s not that the people love BN but they are wise enough to see how ineffective Harapan is.

Constitutional Supremacy: The kampung people, including the Kimanis voters, are not interested in reforms such as Icerd (International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination), Sedition Act and the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 (Sosma), among others.

Kimanis is a 67 percent Muslim majority area. Most of them are comfortable with the Umno-PAS alliance. They also want development. They are not interested in reforms which Bersih chairperson Ambiga Sreenevasan and supporters want within six months.

Then how do you run a country? It is reasonable to remove the obnoxious provisions like no bail and detention without trial. It is likely that those who want absolute abolition are only about 10 percent.

Most people are not interested in reforms, they are interested in bread and butter issues. To most Malays, it is race and religion first. So the reformists want to impose their brand on the majority.

The way forward should be by removing obnoxious provisions, tackling the economy and addressing bread and butter issues burdening the rakyat.

Clever Voter: While it is true that using race, religion and money will to some extent win votes there are others who want to see tangible developments, including public infrastructure, education and employment opportunities.

It is not hard to imagine what locals want. Mahathir continues to live in denial and is seen to pursue his agenda at the expense of people who had voted for change.

Hence, Harapan should not alienate the ones who could provide the marginal difference. If this is repeated elsewhere, the Harapan coalition can kiss goodbye to their rule in three years.

Milshah: Well done, Umno-PAS. If you govern Malaysia, please govern wisely and fairly to the Malays and the non-Malays as well. The non-Malays may not vote for you but they can vote for MCA.

The point is BN is viewed as more racists than Harapan but Harapan is getting whacked left and right for being racial.

It’s like a kid (Harapan) stealing candy and his father punishes him for it. But when his brother (BN) steals from the bank, the father congratulates him (wins by-election). You tell me, where is the fairness if BN continues to win?

Lovemalaysia2: It makes for sad reading. The people here chose a coalition of parties that have allegedly lied, cheated and stolen from the country over the Harapan government. It’s unbelievable.  - Mkini