Cameron by-election loss a lesson learned for Harapan - Muhyiddin
The defeat in the Cameron Highlands by-election yesterday serves as a lesson for Pakatan Harapan to fix weaknesses in the ruling coalition, especially in terms of solving the people's problems, said Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin.
Muhyiddin, who is also the home minister, said that although they lost, the by-election provided an opportunity for Harapan to get feedback from the people about their expectations of the government.
"The information we received from the grassroots on issues that bothered them was mainly on the cost of living, development and so on, we will look into them even though we lost.
"In the context of the current situation and circumstances, there is much that Harapan has to take into account, and we have to correct the existing problems," he told reporters when asked to comment on the result of the by-election in Arau today.
The by-election saw BN retain the seat after its candidate Ramli Mohd. Nor obtained 12,038 votes, beating Harapan’s M Manogaran (8,800 votes) as well as two Independent candidates, Sallehudin Ab Talib (314 votes) and Wong Seng Yee (276 votes).
Muhyiddin said, however, he was convinced that the outcome did not reflect the overall sentiments of the people nationwide.
Meanwhile, commenting on Bersatu Perlis's internal leadership conflict, Muhyiddin said the party’s central leadership had taken control of the state entity to resolve the issue.
Without elaborating on the issue, Muhyiddin said the takeover was only temporary until a new leadership line up was finalised.
"We have begun the process, and later we will announce the restructuring of the leadership at the state level.
"So in the meantime, I appeal to all parties not to issue any statements, and let the situation become calm and orderly and Insya Allah (God willing ) we will settle it as soon as possible," he said.
Perlis Bersatu faced an internal struggle when its secretary Wan Saiful Wan Jan was dropped from the leadership line up citing health reasons. However, Wan Saiful later claimed it was done due to other factors which raised questions over the integrity of the state leadership.
Earlier, Muhyiddin appeared as a panellist in the 2019 Perlis Malay Congress dialogue session organised by the Perlis Centre for Excellence and Development in collaboration with Universiti Malaysia Perlis.
The congress is aimed at educating the public on the positive values that Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad wishes to apply in the new government administration as well as provide an opportunity for the people to be heard by the country's leaders.
- Bernama
Yes we have to replace those non performing ministers.
Don ever forget before GE14 msia was at the verge of trickling down to zimbabwe and venezuela. The country has been deliberately brought to a state of no return, I am sure it is too obvious for all citizens to see. Therefore, before the GE 14 I would like to take this opportunity to address the sole person and or the most crucial person responsible for the future of the country. With due respect, dear Mahathir, before you breathe your last, I would like to thank you for developing the country for the past 22 years during your reign (albeit not as great as our neighbor Singapore), at the same time, you have been solely and or instrumentally causing the unchecked power in the ruling government that is now causing the descend of our beloved country into another Venezuela and or Zimbabwe. Wise people would know what to do, ditching the titanic before it is too late. Mahathir in his 22 yrs reign has transformed the country into a totalitarian state without check and balance, any opposition would first has to face intimidation by police forces that serve the master and not rakyat. 50years ago, we were the rising star, the Asian Tigers. 50years later we are at best, the Asian Cretin. Stunted in growth waiting for foreigners to lend us money
Harapan is at a dangerous cross-road. Results like Highlands seen from a superficial lens can easily stir a knee-jerk reaction to go all out to out-Malay and out-Islam UMNO and PAS, especially if Semenyih has a larger Malay demographics than Highlands. And we know how hungry Bersatu is for more power and influence. I would however urge restraint. Harapan should make a decision not to go down the path of far right. It must start undertaking reforms and ensure that it KEEPS its vote bank that includes the 1/3 Malays who voted for it, and to inspire the other non-Malay groups. A silver lining can already be seen that despite UMNO/PAS combo to dominate Malay votes, DAP (of all parties) have managed to chip away their vote bank when it comes to Orang Asli. OAs may be a small amount, but in the game of exacting political calculus, this can bode well by the time of GE15 where outstation voters will flock back, giving majority to Harapan. Dealing with Malay sentiments require an even hand and temperament. Harapan needs to demonstrate it is fair to all yet at the same time the Malays are better off than before because development is more evenly spread out and therefore evenly felt. Malaysians and especially Harapan component parties should watch closely Semenyih by-election campaign. It Bersatu can pull off a win without resorting to overt racial/religious pandering, it would signal a significant political shift of the Malay society. Bersatu should also capitalise on what BN claimed on Highlands win - that they did not use race/religion - let's see if they have such contraint going into Semenyih, otherwise we know they are fake, and Bersatu can rip them apart on that ground. If BN/PAS exercise restraint, that would be a new shift of national politics. One thing for sure, Harapan does not know how to campaign as the government yet. Manogaran and the PKR senator's snafus are just some examples. It should learn fast.