The Pakatan Harapan-BN coalition's win in the recently concluded twin by-elections in Johor shows that the withdrawal of corruption cases against Ahmad Zahid Hamidi had no effect on voters.
This is according to former Umno leader Khairy Jamaluddin in the latest episode of his ‘Keluar Sekejap’ podcast uploaded last night.
"Yes, Perikatan Nasional did increase their influence in the state, and Harapan-BN experienced a decrease in their majority in Pulai, but in 'realpolitik', the nuances are not important.
"The winner will get everything. Today, no one will talk about the nuances because the important thing is that Harapan-BN won.
“They will say that this is an important victory because the issue of Zahid's DNAA (discharge not amounting to an acquittal) has no effect at all (on the electoral outcome)," said Khairy.
According to him, Harapan-BN can consider the victory an indication that the brouhaha surrounding Zahid's DNAA had come to a close.
"In fact, the winner can write history and say that it's business as usual. It has no effect on the voters.
"If I were a strategist for Harapan-BN, I would do that. I would say that this is proof that the people don't care, and still support the coalition, and the leadership of Anwar Ibrahim," added the former minister.
PN 'weak' in countering
Khairy's co-host Shahril Hamdan, meanwhile, questioned whether PN's "weakness" in countering the DNAA issue contributed to Harapan-BN's victory, to which Khairy concurred.
"PN does not have a lot of 'goal scorers' when it comes to issues that are not related to 3R (race, religion, and royalty).
"If it's 3R-related, everyone from PN can be a 'goal scorer'," he said, adding that PN had failed to capitalise enough on the issue.
"If I were in their place, I would take advantage of the current situation (backlash against Zahid's DNAA).
"Not with a personal attack, but by explaining why this issue is important, and about the future of our country."
The dust around the DNAA is also bound to settle over time, he stressed, saying that in three to four years, more and more people will forget about the anger in the matter.
‘Personal' attack against Syed Saddiq
Khairy also spoke about the criticisms received for featuring Muda president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman on the show.
"The attacks he (Syed Saddiq) received from Harapan supporters were extraordinary and seemed personal.
"I rarely message him, but after that episode, I messaged him and asked if he was okay. I saw that he was affected by the attacks. It was very, very personal," said Khairy.
According to Khairy further, the hatred shown towards the Muar MP was almost as if his critics wanted to "bury" him, politically.
Shahril said he believed it was "personal" because Syed Saddiq's critics did not agree with how he changed his stance on certain issues related to the coalition government and the Sheraton Move, among others.
"There is a bit of a history there, but at the end of the day, I think it all boils down to, in my theory - jealousy.
"About how Syed Saddiq rapidly rose (through the ranks) and (initially) drew support from the then opposition (Harapan).
"So, he rode high on his own brand, and some, who were activists, may have wondered how he became the liberal or reformist poster boy at the time," said Shahril.
Now that Syed Saddiq has fallen out of favour with the powers that be, all the hatred and anger are directed towards him, he added.
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