YOURSAY | ‘Harapan went in with eyes open, and now they must face consequences.’
COMMENT | BN plays for power while DAP and Harapan absorb public blame
Could PAS give Malacca BN shot in arm needed to hold snap polls?
OrangeJaguar9341: No right-thinking Malaysian expected that the Umno-DAP relationship would evolve into something deeper. Nor would we want it to.
However, the disgust felt at caretaker Johor menteri besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi’s utter contempt for DAP - after serving alongside them for three years and viewing firsthand their hard work, sacrifice (they willingly gave up their rightful cabinet positions to Umno), and integrity is preposterous.
For the writer to say this is how seasoned political parties operate is either extraordinarily biased or deeply cynical.
Public dissatisfaction with government policies has indeed fallen on Pakatan Harapan, not BN.
But again, the writer, former Federal Territories Bersatu and Perikatan Nasional secretary Mahathir Rais, describes this in terms of an ignorant and naive public.
Truth is, the anger is because, despite holding the largest number of seats, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim relinquished way too much power to Umno.
Instead of honouring his main partner DAP (which has 40 seats to Umno's 26), Anwar foolishly pledged his loyalty to Umno president and deputy prime minister Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, marginalised party members who spoke up against backtracking on reforms, and refused to see what was inevitable.
So the anger the voters feel is not misplaced.
Anwar lacks astuteness, has very poor judgment, made bad choices, misplaced his trust and loyalty and surrounded himself with yes-men who failed to see the realities of working with Umno and never showed him the error and folly of his ways.
Nada Villa: What exactly is BN's "clarity"? What is being portrayed as confidence may simply be overconfidence.
A coalition partner publicly attacking another component of the government while continuing to enjoy the benefits of office does not demonstrate clarity; it exposes contradiction.
When Onn said he would rather give up the menteri besar's post than work with DAP in Johor, voters are entitled to ask what exactly the coalition stands for beyond the pursuit of power.
Why does that principle stop at the Johor border? Of course, BN is acting in its own interest, but every party does.
The real question is whether that interest is compatible with stable governance and political honesty.
It is difficult to claim principled independence while sharing cabinet responsibility in Putrajaya and simultaneously campaigning in state polls against the very partners who help keep you there.
More importantly, if Umno's strategy is to compete with PAS and Bersatu for the same ummah votes, it is entering an increasingly crowded marketplace where several parties are chasing the same electorate.
Alienating non-Malay voters may look like confidence within party circles, but in a fragmented electoral environment, it can be a costly miscalculation.
What some call political realism may simply be opportunism dressed up as strategy, and voters are far more capable of recognising that distinction than young Turks like Onn and Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh often assume.
TC: DAP is mainly responsible for nailing former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak and Umno for 1MDB and all the corruption scandals for the past decades.
Teaming up with Anwar and later forming the unity government was not by choice, but by circumstances.
Anwar was hell-bent to become prime minister and, for the past few years, has been trying to court Malay votes and hoping to win them over to have a second term.
DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke has not provided strong leadership and got suck up, wanting to behave like MCA, being the obedient good boy of Anwar.
Losing the core base of non-Malay voters is DAP’s biggest downfall. Is it too late to regain that trust? Looks like a tough call.
Letdown since 2018: Yes, Anwar wanted to be prime minister at all costs, and Loke would do anything to help him.
With such desperation, Umno people only had to pull the strings for the desperados to dance and jump. They thrust themselves into the limelight to lead, but things did not get better.
In fact, everything got worse, and the country is in a mess with 3R issues being dominant and the rising cost of living.
However, no one can deny that the current government is led by Harapan. The other parties in the coalition are just in it for the ride.
Mechi: Both Umno and PAS are power crazy. How can they compromise on the seat allocation?
People are tired of power-crazy politicians. So better to vote for Parti Bersama Malaysia or Harapan. Safer ideologies instead of race and religious issues.
BusinessFirst: If PAS joins Umno, then that is good for Harapan in a sense, as suddenly the non-Malays will flock back to Harapan.
Much as they despise Anwar, they fear PAS more. Anyone with PAS is a kiss of death for non-Malays.
Salvage Malaysia: Harapan parties fought for decades to end BN’s domination. They ended up giving a new lease of life to BN, including power and resources.
Harapan went in with its eyes open, and now it must face the consequences. All blame for the Madani government falls on Harapan and not BN.
Like it or not, in terms of political strategy, Zahid is superb. Lie low, play humble and wait for the right moment. I think slowly the student has upstaged the master. - Mkini
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