Up-to-par performance trumps strategies in fight for votes, say experts

 

On Sunday, PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli announced the launch of two new party strategies, Pop25 and Kemas16.

PETALING JAYA: Effective governance go further in helping a political party win voter trust than increased membership and new strategies, according to two political analysts.

Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani said PKR’s recently launched initiatives — Pop25 and Kemas16 — will not make up for poor performance while James Chin pointed out that having more members does not necessarily attract more support in an election.

Asrul, formerly of strategy advisory service provider BowerGroupAsia, said poor performance in government renders any strategy or campaign ineffective.

At the PKR’s 25th anniversary convention on Sunday, deputy president Rafizi Ramli acknowledged that the opposition has caught up with his party’s mastery of alternative media and public demonstrations.

He later introduced two new initiatives, which he named Pop25 and Kemas16, that he said would be the party’s strategy to ensure enough support for party president Anwar Ibrahim’s bid to retain the prime minister’s post in the 16th general elections (GE16).

Rafizi explained that Pop25 or Pemerkesaan Organisasi Parti 25 Tahun will focus on strengthening the party while Kemas16 or Keadilan Menang Siri PRU16 will get party workers to speed up preparations for GE16.

Asrul said the two strategies will only be effective if they are reflected in federal policies and have an impact on people’s livelihood.

“They (Pakatan Harapan) will be judged on their track record,” he told FMT.

“As the party leading the incumbent federal government, PKR can no longer simply offer promises as it did when in the opposition,” he said.

“At the polling booth, voters will make their decisions based not only on promises but also on the federal government’s track record,” he added.

Chin of the University of Tasmania said it is a fallacy to assume that with more members a party will get more support.

Citing Umno as an example, he pointed out that the party once had more than 3.5 million members “but their vote count never exceeded 3.2 million”.

“Membership is not crucial. What matters now is leading the government effectively,” he told FMT.

“If you govern well and implement necessary reforms, that will ensure that you get re-elected,” he added.

Chin said that in 2018, Umno members were cautioned against becoming complacent just because it had a huge membership at that time.

However, to counter claims that not all members would vote for their respective parties, former Umno supreme council member Mustapa Mohamed also pointed out then that the reported figure of 3.5 million members was inaccurate.

He said some members had either left the party or passed away before the 14th general election.

In the 2018 general elections, Umno lost its six-decade grip on power as part of the Barisan Nasional coalition. - FMT