Amanah rep: Harapan must fix 6 weaknesses or risk being 'election tourist'

 

Permatang Pasir assemblyperson Faiz Fadzil is urging Pakatan Harapan to be reasonable in its actions or risk being an “election tourist” in the 15th general election.

The Amanah Central Committee member listed six factors to be considered following Harapan’s poor performance in the Johor state election.

Faiz (above) reasoned that with the split in votes among the opposition resulting in BN’s landslide win in the Johor polls, it was time for Harapan to recycle its previous winning formula.

“The opposition vote, especially the Malay vote, was divided into several opposition parties, especially Harapan and Perikatan Nasional (PN).

“Harapan’s victory in GE14 was due to the unification of all opposition parties with the existence of a Malay core party. This formula needs to be used again,” he said.

Further, he added that the lasting impact of the Sheraton Move and the need for a stable government still weighed on voters’ minds.

“The opposition, especially Harapan, failed to bring the message of stability, and also failed to show this strength,” he said.

Additionally, Faiz felt that Harapan’s inability to agree on a single logo, prior to the Johor polls, gave the impression that the coalition would struggle to last long and provide the stability desired by voters.

“Voters see a loose image of unity having an impact on stability. If the issue of the logo itself fails to be resolved at an early stage, this brings the impression that the government that will be established will be difficult to last long.

“The formula against one enemy must first be identified, followed by a logo, a manifesto and a voice,” said Faiz

PKR decided to use its own logo in the Johor polls while Amanah and DAP stuck with using the Harapan banner.

PKR said its grassroots do not favour the Harapan logo because it is associated with the Harapan administration from 2018 to 2020, which it said had its achievements but also "many shortcomings".

Bread and butter issues

The over-reliance on corruption as an issue saw less of an impact in the course of Harapan’s campaigning in the Johor elections, said Faiz.

“It is not that the people of Johor do not understand the issue of corruption, but the mood this time wants a government that can guarantee life, especially (with) the economic impact of the Covid-19 pandemic,” he said.

On mobilising out-of-state voters to return to cast their ballot, he noted that while efforts had been made to mobilise voters living in Singapore and the Klang Valley, it was not enough to make an impact.

“Most voters basically want to vote in GE15 rather than the state elections. Therefore, the wave of the rakyat’s uprising needs to be rebuilt in order to stimulate a high turnout among voters,” he said.

Only 50 percent of voters were recorded at 4pm on polling day (March 13) in Johor, compared to the Election Commission’s target of 70 percent.

This is marginally lower than voter turnout at the previous Malacca election - which ended with a turnout of 65.85 percent.

At first glance, it would appear there is a dramatic drop in voters but this is also the first election where the automatic voter registration system was implemented, as well as the new voting age of 18, down from 21.

Automatic voter registration had caused the electorate to balloon by 42.89 percent.

In this election, the final turnout was some 1.42 million out of the 2,597,742 eligible electors.

In short, new voters are making up the numbers for the expected lower turnout due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Social media machinery

Lastly, Faiz observed the weakness of Harapan’s social media dominance that has resulted in its campaign not reaching voters.

He called on Harapan to fire up its cyber army - which proved to be helpful in its previous general election victory.

BN won a landslide victory in the Johor polls, winning 40 out of the 56 seats.

BN leaders celebrating the coalition’s victory at the Johor state election

PN won three, Harapan took 12 while Muda secured one.

The opposition’s poor showing was in part attributed to the low turnout rate as well as the split among them.

In 35 out of 56 seats, the combined votes of Harapan and PN exceeded BN’s. - Mkini