YOURSAY 'It's difficult for PAS to retake Kedah. The new MB, Mukhriz Mahathir, is an aristocrat. He knows the game well.'

'Failure to take on criticism spelled Kedah PAS downfall'

Anonymous #44199885: The lesson for PAS in GE13 is that it needs to be a moderate party. In a fast growing and complex world, a government - whether state or federal - needs to be more responsive and proactive to the differing needs of its people.

PAS had a real chance to prove that it has the capacity and technical ability to lead this nation and it failed to make a success of it.

It has good and appealing leaders such as Salahuddin Ayub, Husam Musa, Khalid Samad, Nizar Jamaluddin, etc, and they should bring these leaders to the forefront.

ONG: Universiti Malaya Centre for Election and Democracy Studies (Umcedel) director Mohammad Redzuan Othman is being too kind and overly diplomatic in his assessment and analysis of PAS' failures.

First, he describes a 'non-performing' Kedah menteri besar as a 'not high-performing' menteri besar, giving the impression that the MB was still a well-performing one.

After that, he described people who are prone to selling their votes for RM500 as people who "are taken in by budi (good deeds)."

YF: The failure of PAS to retain Kedah shows the obvious folly within the party itself. Relying on incompetent ulama to lead a state is toying with disaster.

PAS needs professionals who have both technical skills and spiritual integrity. I am sure PAS has many of these professionals but they have been suppressed by the lofty ulama. Sad case, PAS.

Kunta-Kinte: Kedah is a good lesson for PAS. A blessing in disguise, really. I hope they will take stock from this episode and move on.

As for Umno, they are the party representing the subdued rural populace, while Pakatan Rakyat represents the informed and the future.

Gggg: Kunte-Kinte, PAS will never learn. They lost Terengannu because of arrogance and now Kedah. In GE14, without Tok Guru, even Kelantan may fall to BN. Unless PAS changes or it will be changed.

NoBN4me: PAS' arrogant attitude is all around. They look at their own strength but not voters' impressions.

Kelantan after Nik Aziz Nik Mat may face the same problem. The situation in Kedah was inevitable but they refused to accept that fact.

Son of PJ: I do not want to say too much on former Kedah MB Azizan Abdul Razak as he had suffered a tremendous tragedy in terms of his health but to put it mildly, he is too much of a simpleton to really govern a state.

I am quite certain PAS leader Mahfuz Omar will be a much better candidate.

ABBN: PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang and secretary-general Mustafa Ali should resign and be held responsible for the mess in PAS Kedah.

Numerous appeals and warnings were issued by party members as well as local supporters and community leaders in Kedah to take immediate rectification measures such as changing the state leadership.

But these two leaders, due to their personal friendship to Azizan, refused to consider the advice, and adamantly allowed Azizan and his cronies to continue, resulting in the eventual loss of Kedah.

MatrixLYN: The ‘orang kampung' need to understand that the money does not belong to PM Najib Razak or Umno or BN. It belongs to the rakyat.

There is no need to thank Umno. Once they understand this, they will know they don't owe them anything.

P Dev Anand Pillai: So the moral of the story is keep them poor and dumb and they will keep you in power. If you think of educating them, you will be in for trouble.

It is a simple theory that works well in Malaysia where we produce graduates who are unable to think.

Anonymous #57883242: In time to come, more Malaysians will vote on the individual's performance and not on party lines. Race and religion will become irrelevant.

Swipenter: This goes to show that Najib/Umno invented the myth of a "Chinese tsunami" just like they invented the social contract to demonise and justify unequal treatment for the non-Malays.

It is clear that there is a rural-urban divide in voting patterns. The educated and informed voters voted on issues and the less informed voted for money and on emotions stirred up by Umno's propaganda.

The divide-and-rule tactics are clearly losing ground to ideals of equality, social justice, fairness, rule of law and a transparent, responsible and accountable government where corruption is abhorred.

As our country becomes more urbanised, population more educated and Internet savvy, voters are going to vote on issues confronting the country and not on cheap handouts, race and religion.

Comrade in Arms: It's difficult for PAS to retake Kedah. The new MB, Mukhriz Mahathir, is an aristocrat. He knows the game well. As long as he satisfies the Malays and the Indians, PAS can forget about Kedah.

James Dean: It's not that BN won Kedah but rather PAS lost Kedah.

The above is a selection of comments posted by Malaysiakini subscribers. Only paying subscribers can post comments. Over the past one year, Malaysiakinians have posted over 100,000 comments. Join the Malaysiakini community and help set the news agenda. Subscribe now .