WHILE lauding the comfortable win by Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate Pang Sock Tao in the Kuala Kubu Baharu (KKB) by-election, a DAP leader said the status quo for the recent polls has positive as well as negative implications for all coalitions.

Dr Ong Kian Ming said for PH, the KKB results may be interpreted as a vote of confidence, this would be a mistake since the underlying dissatisfaction against the government among different segments of the society is real and growing.

“Many of my colleagues in PH would remember the April 2007 Ijok by-election that was won relatively comfortably by the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate,” the former international trade and industry deputy minister said in a statement on Tuesday (May 14).

“Less than one year later, in March 2008, in the 13th general election, BN lost control of Selangor and of the two thirds majority in parliament.”

Ong said UMNO would also be mistaken to think that the Malay vote has started to turn in its favour, noting that the results in the Malay-majority areas in KKB had clearly indicated otherwise.

“The party still lacks a coherent game plan on how it will win back the Malay vote especially among the Malay youth,” he observed.

“As for PN, it would also be mistaken to think that the current government’s popularity would allow it to easily win back power in the 16th general election (GE16).

“While they definitely have the majority of Malay support nationally, it remains to be seen if this will be sufficient for them to win a majority of seats in Peninsular Malaysia.

“This is especially if some of the leadership challenges in Bersatu continues to weaken the ability of the party to campaign and present itself as a credible government-in-waiting.”

Ong noted that the battleground is among the middle ground, especially the Malay middle ground which can be swayed by good leadership, good policies and good implementation.

“There is a lot of runway before GE16 for all parties and their leaders to make the necessary adjustments to win this middle ground as a pathway to Putrajaya,” he reckoned. - May 14, 2024

https://focusmalaysia.my/kkb-polls-a-confidence-building-exercise-for-unity-govt-but-warning-signs-abound-warns-kian-ming/