Nurul Izzah: Harapan should prepare to lose two more GEs
Editor's note: Nurul Izzah Anwar's office reached out to Malaysiakini to explain a quote that appeared in Sinar Harian and used in paragraph 4 of this article which contained errors. This article has been updated.
Permatang Pauh MP Nurul Izzah Anwar said Pakatan Harapan should expect to lose another two general elections before having a chance at winning.
In an interview with Sinar Harian, Nurul Izzah (above) said it would take time to craft a new "product" for the public, especially those who are unhappy with Harapan's short stint in Putrajaya.
"I believe it is not easy for Harapan to...
Editor's note: Nurul Izzah Anwar's office reached out to Malaysiakini to explain a quote that appeared in Sinar Harian and used in paragraph 4 of this article which contained errors. This article has been updated.
Permatang Pauh MP Nurul Izzah Anwar said Pakatan Harapan should expect to lose another two general elections before having a chance at winning.
In an interview with Sinar Harian, Nurul Izzah (above) said it would take time to craft a new "product" for the public, especially those who are unhappy with Harapan's short stint in Putrajaya.
"I believe it is not easy for Harapan to win the next election and we have to be prepared to lose two more rounds before we can see some positive impact and acceptance by the rakyat.
"I am very realistic because we need time to show the people we are a different product. (Voters), including myself, are still traumatised with the betrayal that ended Harapan's 22-month administration," she added.
Nurul Izzah said there were no shortcuts for Harapan and voters needed to be convinced of the coalition's ability to rule again.
She said 22 months was not enough for people to evaluate Harapan's performance while BN has six decades of history.
"Harapan has learned a lot from that experience. If we were to compare Harapan's failures in fulfilling its manifesto for 22 months with BN's six-decade rule, there are a lot of differences.
"If we were to evaluate BN's ability to fulfil their promises, they will likely get an 'F' grade.
"An example is the number of affordable houses for the B40. Now I'm waiting to see how they are going to implement the RM1,500 minimum wage because the exemptions for certain industries have yet to be determined, despite the enforcement date falling on May 1," she said.
Nurul Izzah, who has been politically active since she was a teenager, said she predicted Harapan to suffer losses during the next general election but so too will Umno.
The key to this was fence-sitters who she believed did not turn up to vote during the Malacca and Johor polls recently.
Umno and its BN coalition won both elections handsomely, albeit with less than 50 percent of the vote share.
"Perhaps Umno and BN feel confident but that is not guaranteed (for the next general election) as the fence-sitters have not turned up in force.
"During the Malacca and Johor elections, we had not entered the 'transition to endemic' phase yet.
"When all economic sectors are re-opened, surely the voters will turn up in droves. I'm sure all MPs will be afraid," she said.
Nurul Izzah will not be contesting during the upcoming PKR leadership polls and will instead focus on wooing fence-sitters.
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