Pakatan Harapan opponents should not be too quick to draw a comparison to the outcome of the just concluded Jakarta governor election in Indonesia, said a PKR leader.

Certain quarters, including PAS, should not rush and come up with a deeper analysis on why Basuki 'Ahok' Tjahaja Purnama failed to retain his governor post, said PKR Youth deputy chief Afif Bahardin.

"It was not all due to racial or religious factors. That may be one of the reasons, but a deeper analysis of the situation showed that Anies Baswedan won the polls because he campaigned on a pro-people platform," he told Malaysiakini.

"The winner had the people's needs in mind during their campaign," said the state executive councillor for health and agriculture.

"They did not campaign exploiting racial or religious issues," added Afif, who is Seberang Jaya assemblyperson.

"Ahok was mostly seen as pro-developer, and he lost massively in areas where there were irresponsible evictions, where villagers or residents were not compensated properly," he said.

Prior to the election, Purnama had come under fire for allegedly insulting Islam, and massive protests were held against him.

PAS information chief Nasrudin Hassan used the Indonesian's defeat saying there is a lesson in it for Malaysian politicians.

"When you insult Islam, do not think Muslims would not react by rejecting you as a leader. The Jakarta governor election proves this," the Termeloh MP reportedly said.

Nasrudin drew parallels with local Muslims sentiments over PAS' move to amend the Syariah Courts (Criminal Jurisdiction) Act (Act 355).

'Emulate Anies' campaign'

Afif meanwhile said he based his analysis on his experience following Anies' campaign trail.

He refuted media propaganda that claimed the defeat of Purnama, an ethnic Chinese, signalled the rise of Islam in the republic.

Afif said during the campaign period, Anies' team wooed voters by showing how their leadership can empower the people and it serves as a valuable lesson.

"They underscored the plans they have to help uplift the status of petty traders, for example, they outlined the programmes which can empower the people to improve their living conditions," he said.

Afif said their victory was similar to Pakatan Rakyat's win, especially for their second term in Penang and Selangor.

He added the people in the two states realised the two state governments provided many pro-people programmes that benefit the masses.

"Anies' campaign slogan was 'Maju Bersama' (Progress Together), and voters see (his team) as full of dynamism, brimming with ideas to move the nation forward," Afif said.

"Their speeches were filled with promises to bring back social justice, while defending the need for equality among communities," he added.

"These are things we should emulate here," he said.