Another election day thrashing for PH, PN

 

Talk of an underdog victory for PH and PN at the Johor elections proved to be premature.

PETALING JAYA: Another polling day, another day of heavy defeats for Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Perikatan Nasional (PN).

The full results of the Johor state assembly elections are yet to come in but it is clear that Barisan Nasional (BN) will form the next state government and with the two-thirds majority their leaders had desired.

Unofficial results show BN with 42 of the 56 state assembly seats, while the opposition coalitions, have little to show for their efforts.

The BN victory comes three months after it scored a landslide in Melaka, where it had increased its 2018 standing by eight seats.

The latest setback for PH and PN will surely be followed by calls for soul-searching in both coalitions, beginning with a more effective weapon against BN than their incessant attacks against former prime minister Najib Razak and the so-called “court cluster” of party leaders facing trial.

The strategy did not work in Melaka and it clearly did not work in Johor this time.

PH and in particular DAP may seek to take comfort from the fact that there was a low turnout (about 50% at 5pm) and that many of their traditional, urban supporters could not return from Singapore to vote, because of closed borders.

On the other hand, voter fatigue and apathy are major factors in non-general election years.

Johor BN leader Hasni Mohammad, now likely to be nominated to be the next menteri besar, said today that the Covid-19 pandemic may have made voters less enthusiastic about voting. “They were not very passionate about voting and this involved people of all races,” he said.

Questions remain over how PH can win sufficient Malay support, the lack of which was their Achilles heel even when Bersatu was an ally.

According to unofficial results, PKR and Amanah lost badly, with only DAP being able to hold their heads up high after seemingly defending most of their seats.

After failing to win a single seat in Melaka and Sarawak, PKR would have hoped to be able to at least defend the five seats they won in 2018 but this does not appear to be the case.

Even the fielding of former education minister and Simpang Renggam MP Maszlee Malik in Layang-Layang could not help them. The former Bersatu man lost to BN’s Mutalib Rahim.

For PN, anchored by both Bersatu and PAS, the outcome of the Johor polls is perhaps more dire as the two parties are second best to Umno for Malay support.

Though the southern state has never been a PAS stronghold, the weak performance of their ally Bersatu against Umno is bound to lead to questions as to whether they have the right partner with which to contest the next general election.

Bersatu could not even retain the Gambir seat previously won by its president Muhyiddin Yassin, who did not contest the seat this time. Whether the result would have been different if he did will never be known.

Other parties like former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s Pejuang, Warisan and Muda also failed to make an impact, though the bigger question is about PH and PN’s survival ahead of GE15.

Whether GE15 happens soon, as demanded by Umno’s top brass, remains to be seen but it is clear that something will need to change in PH and PN if they want to remain in the game. - FMT