BN’s win shows voters miss ‘good old days’, says analyst

 

There is nostalgia among voters that the economy was better under BN compared to now, what with the pandemic and economy in bad shape, says an analyst.

PETALING JAYA: Barisan Nasional’s (BN) big win at the Johor elections shows that voters want a return to the “good old days” when BN was in power, according to an analyst.

Azmil Tayeb of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) said BN’s convincing win in the Johor elections was a sign that the people were clinging on to the nostalgia of economically better days under the BN government, which held power at the federal level for more than 60 years and oversaw the country’s rapid development.

“There is a nostalgic feeling that the economy was better under BN compared to now, what with the pandemic and the terrible economy. Whether that is actually true or not is beside the point,” said Azmil.

“This is a reason why voters are flocking back to vote for BN and why the coalition did so well in Melaka, and now in Johor.

“People want to go back to the good old days of prosperity, especially the Malays, who form the majority of the B40 lower-income community.”

Meanwhile, another analyst attributed BN’s big win in the Johor state polls to a divided opposition.

Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid, also of USM, said the results showed that the opposition has to put up a united front if they wish to taste any success at the polls.

“It just shows that in order to trounce BN, the unofficial rule of the game in Malaysia is that we cannot afford to have the opposition parties fighting each other at the polls,” he told FMT.

Noting how the opposition put up a united front during the last general election, Fauzi said BN’s chances at yesterday’s polls were further enhanced by the low voter turnout, which was about 55%. - FMT