YOURSAY | ‘With a few more years of Harapan, who will be left to fight the bad fight for BN?’

Imagining a ‘BN-PAS coalition’ during GE14

Anonymous 770241447347646: The key is ‘if’ we had done it this way. The scenario at the time (GE14) was that the anger and disgust in the people's hearts was real. The rakyat would have rejected BN even if PAS were their partner in crime.

BN should not be too smug just because of one by-election victory in Cameron Highlands. The four years until the next general election is a long time.

Maybe by that time PAS might have deserted BN for the sake of their own survival. Even some of its own members might leave if they see opportunities for themselves diminishing.

By that time, Felda, Lembaga Tabung Haji and the other such institutions might be doing better. Palm oil and rubber prices may rise, putting more money in the hands of the Malays. Most of the promises made by Pakatan Harapan would have been fulfilled.

Anything is possible. So BN should stop daydreaming.

Anonymous Observer: Whatever analysis done after the election is purely statistical. The rakyat was frustrated and fed up with BN, which had manipulated the entire system of governance for 60 years.

The new government led by Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad has since managed to tackle the cancer in society, corruption, and those who are involved have to shiver and pray to God that the coalition falls.

If these individuals from the previous regime are found to be guilty as charged, then no amount of popularity will cleanse them. Such people should be made ineligible to vie for public positions.

Milshah: Yes, the political environment pre-GE14 is different from what it is now. At the time, the rakyat were burdened by the high cost of living, GST, 1MDB, Felda, and other scandals.

The ‘anyone but Umno’ sentiment was very high at the time. The idea for three-cornered fights at the time was to split votes for PAS and Harapan to allow BN to win.

However, now the scenario is different – Najib Abdul Razak is no longer prime minister, but the cost of living remains high despite the promises made by Harapan. A good analysis though.

Across The Straits: This is likely the opposition’s formula (an Umno-PAS alliance) for the next general election.

Harapan had better formulate a counter-attack strategy, or be wiped out come GE15.

Cicak Boy: I believe a lot of people voted BN with the expectation that the former ruling coalition would win. So how would they vote now?

Newday: Putting a new spin on the GE14 results means nothing now. With another few years of Harapan in power, I wonder how much more of PAS’ lies and deceit will be exposed for all to see.

And by then, the courts would have progressed on many cases of corruption, and certain individuals may be in jail. Who will be left to fight the bad fight for Umno-BN then?

Study: Harapan no longer dominating digital space

Sulaiman bin Che Long: Harapan, which is now the government, no longer dominating the digital space is a very healthy and important development.

Social media gives the people their voices, however small. It gives them a more level-playing field.

Many commentators who attributed Harapan’s decreased influence on social media to its waning popularity are being disingenuous. It is belittling to the common people who can voice their opinions.

They can now have alternative narratives to the ones the prevailing powers want the people to believe in. In other words, the battle for hearts and minds is right here, so long there is no uncalled-for censorship.

In the United States, the courts ruled in favour of the New York Times and Washington Post for disclosing government secrets during the Vietnam War (the Pentagon Papers).

As the US Supreme Court said: “The press was to serve the governed, not the governors."

Clever Voter: It is always easier to stand at the back of a lorry to shout slogans and make noise.

Former PM Najib Abdul Razak is unashamed, and with nothing to lose he can say anything he wants. He has deep resources to fund the best cybertroopers to exaggerate in his social media posts without being caught under existing laws.

It would appear Harapan’s worst enemy is really themselves. Torn between different needs, its leadership is confronted with a lose-lose rather than a win-win.

The opposition will simply revert to old ways of using race and religion to win support.

Mahathir’s challenge is to not just keep the momentum, but to leave behind old legacies, which is proving harder to do than initially thought.

The establishment has a problem today even with the government’s communication machinery at their disposal. Recent embarrassments, ranging from fake qualifications to closing Jalan TAR to motorists, have been blown out of proportion. It will always easier to sit and criticise.

Unless Harapan acts quickly to be seen as a united front, and is able to show what they are capable of, their popularity ratings will continue to slide.

The Wakandan: Sadly, Harapan lacks the brains to counter the fall in popularity on social media. After all, with leaders possessing fake degrees at the helm, people should not expect too much.

Rembrandt: Declining public popularity is normal when the government of the day isn’t doing well and the people are unhappy. The opposition can easily gain support by brainwashing the people to go against the government.

Here, they are looking for a saviour, and Najib is portraying himself as humble and able to understand their plight so that the people support him.

Harapan seems to be resting on its laurels after GE14. The state machinery is sleeping, the menteris besar are lacking in ideas, the component parties are fighting internally, and the quality of ministers leaves much to be desired.

These do not inspire confidence, so it’s not surprising that the people are looking for a new saviour after Mahathir.

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