YOURSAY | Can Harapan woo rural Malays?

 

YOURSAY | ‘Let Harapan complete a full term, only then we can judge if they truly succeed or fail.’

In Perak, a gateway for Harapan into Malay heartlands

Kilimanjaro: Yes, for Pakatan Harapan to woo rural Malays is a major problem. The disconnect and years and years of indoctrination by Umno have divided the nation along racial and religious lines.

This could prove disastrous for the future of the country. The dictum that "divided we fall" in this case works to the advantage of Umno.

For sure, Umno will fight hard to retain its rural support - it has to thwart any attempt to eat into their voting heartlands.

Just one full term for Harapan could overturn Umno's many years of indoctrination once Harapan can show how people will benefit from its policies as opposed to the few who enjoy the lion's share of the cake.

Umno is jittery to the point of obsession that once its hold is weakened, it may be a point of no return.

One strategy that may be considered by Harapan is to go for Umno and BN leaders in one-on-one contests.

Leaders like Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, caretaker prime minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, MIC deputy president M Saravanan, MCA president Wee Ka Siong, etc, have weak track records and "slaying" them would immensely boost Harapan's return to Putrajaya.

The DAP leadership had destroyed the power base of MCA similarly. Selected heavyweights focused on BN leaders and defeating them would further boost the chances of Harapan now and in the future.

Milshah: Don't forget about the Malacca and Johor state elections, in which BN won the supermajority. Harapan lost many seats in those state elections, and it could be the trend for other states as well, such as Perak.

If Harapan is sincere about helping the Malays, Harapan should have done more for the Malays during its 22 months of rule. Instead, the Malays were told they were insignificant since a small portion of them voted for Harapan.

As a Malay, it saddens me that only during elections do Harapan and their supporters talk about Malays and their votes. If Harapan does come to ask for my vote now, I will be more eager to vote for BN.

Mind you, I voted for Harapan during the 14th general election. So, what about the other Malays? If you have Malays that voted for Harapan who now do not want to vote for Harapan, what about the diehard Malays who voted for BN?

This is something Harapan needs to learn. If you want Malay votes, you have to woo them continuously and not only during elections.

I was arguing in all my comments about the importance of the Malay votes since Harapan was in government. Now it's a bit too late for Harapan to approach the Malays.

But that's just me. Maybe the other Malays will vote for Harapan? Naaa...

GrayDove8171: I doubt the rural folks will be able to comprehend Harapan’s strengths and their ideas of reform.

After all, it is easier to just wait for handouts and subsidies whenever life gets hard, as compared to attempting to understand the actual sad state of our country's economy and socio-political affairs caused by decades of BN's damaging policies and corrupt politicians.

With BN at the helm of the country, we will be the next Sri Lanka or Venezuela. That is a fact, I am not badmouthing BN.

I keep seeing comments asking what Harapan will do for the Malays. I'd say to them that not letting Malaysia go down the same path as Sri Lanka and Venezuela is the best thing that Harapan can do for the Malays (and other Malaysians too)!

The point is, it is unfair to say Harapan did not do enough within their short stint of 22 months. Let Harapan complete a full term, only then can we judge if they truly succeed or fail.

PurpleMoose5046: These rural folks are just simple ‘kampong’ folks. What they want is merely some money to get by, like ‘duit raya’ which they see as a blessing in improving their existing lives.

They don't care about your lofty slogans, institutional reform, etc, which in the best-case scenario, may result in benefits that get trickled down only after many years, and not necessarily to them.

Given this, how can Harapan connect with them in this 15th general election?

Iphonezours: Talking to the urban/semi-urban voter base is different than to the rural folk. Don’t just blast out governance, corruption, and institutional reform at them.

Engage them more on bread/butter issues such as education, jobs, agriculture, rural uplifting/transformation and religion. They just want some connection with their representatives.

Hmmmmmmmm: To normal logical thinking people, voting Umno or BN is totally out of the question. We can see where the country will be heading if the looting and bad governance continues.

We keep wondering how it is that others, especially those in rural areas, can't see this. We need to cast our minds back to our school days. I am sure everyone has a friend or knows somebody who couldn't recite the ABCs or do simple arithmetic.

Well, these people have grown up and become voters, or worse still, candidates.

Sun: If Harapan has not been on the ground working in the Malay heartland since 2018 and working hard with a message that resonates with the people, then what are they doing in politics?

A lot of the points made in this article remind me of the same mistakes made over and over again by the Democrats in US politics. - Mkini