PH's latest defeat calls for more than soul-searching
By Robin Augustin
KUALA LUMPUR: While the official tally for the Negri Sembilan election has yet to be released, unofficial results indicate that Pakatan Harapan has suffered its third consecutive electoral defeat after Sabah and Johor - and perhaps its most damning yet.
That PH failed to win in Sabah and Johor was not entirely surprising.
In Sabah, strong state-based sentiments meant the contest was always likely to be dominated by local forces, particularly the ruling Gabungan Rakyat Sabah and opposition Warisan.
In Johor, PH was challenging an incumbent Barisan Nasional administration led by the young and well-liked Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi. His hands-on style and record in Umno's birthplace meant a change of government was always unlikely.
It was the scale of PH's defeats in both states that shocked many.
In Sabah, PH won only one seat through PKR, while DAP was wiped out. In Johor, PKR and Amanah won just one seat each, while DAP saw their seats drop from 10 to six.
Worse still, seven PH candidates in Johor lost their deposits after failing to secure one-eighth of the votes cast.
BN has claimed that it and Perikatan Nasional have won 25 of Negri Sembilan's 36 seats, allowing the two coalitions to take control of a state that PH had governed since 2018.
PH entered the election with 17 seats, compared with BN's 14 and PN's five. BN and PN then reached an electoral understanding that allowed them to divide the constituencies between them and avoid splitting their support by contesting against each other.
The scale of PH's losses - particularly in Chennah and Linggi where DAP secretary Anthony Loke and caretaker Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun contested - suggests that the BN–PN strategy did more than merely improve their electoral arithmetic. It also points to problems for PH that extend beyond state-specific considerations.
Negri Sembilan was a more revealing test than Johor.
PH was not attempting to dislodge a popular incumbent administration. It was defending its own governing record in a state it had controlled for eight years.
It also mounted a much stronger fight than it did in Johor, where few senior leaders threw their hats into the ring.
PH campaigned heavily on its record in government, highlighting investment, development and job creation in the state.
This was arguably a more immediate and relevant proposition for voters than the repeated references to jailed former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak heard at ceramahs during the Johor campaign.
BN, meanwhile, faced renewed questions over the release of the Royal Commission of Inquiry report into Tabung Haji.
Yet the unofficial results suggest the controversy ultimately had little effect on its performance.
This does not mean voters no longer care about the past, accountability or institutional wrongdoing. Rather, they may be placing greater priority on their immediate circumstances and whether those seeking office can offer convincing solutions.
Some observers and politicians argue that state elections should not automatically be regarded as referendums on the federal administration.
That caution is fair. Local candidates, state leadership, demographic differences and turnout can all shape the result.
But after three successive defeats - and particularly after losing a state it had governed since 2018 - PH cannot afford to dismiss the possibility that broader dissatisfaction with the federal administration over national issues is affecting its support.
The Negri Sembilan result suggests that voters are increasingly impatient. They do not necessarily reject questions of accountability, but they also want answers to the problems affecting their daily lives - and they want those answers quickly.
Nor does victory guarantee BN and PN a smooth path ahead should their electoral cooperation develop into a more permanent political arrangement.
By consolidating the lion's share of the Malay vote, BN and its allies could continue recording victories in state elections and potentially enter the 16th General Election from a position of strength.
But winning elections is not the same as governing successfully.
Whichever coalition hopes to win the next general election must offer credible solutions rather than rely solely on public unhappiness with those currently in power.
Otherwise, it may eventually meet the same fate that has now befallen PH.
MY COMMENTS: A nightmare that began in 1998 (to be exact on September 2nd 1998, the same day that the Star LRT began its first operations) is coming to an end. 28 years of bullshitting is finally being thrown into the tong sampah. Let there be praise.
Perhaps a word of thanks is due to the selection which was made less than three years ago which has led to this realisation by the Malaysian people. It is just comforting to know that the country will soon be rid of the pestilence. Let there be joy in the land.
