PH-BN loss signals rejection of Madani policies in Sungai Bakap
The defeat demonstrated the public's frustration with the Madani government over the targeted diesel subsidy and planning to sell MAHB shares to pro-Israeli firm BlackRock.
MOHD FAIZUL HAIKA MAT KHAZI
SHAH ALAM - The loss of Pakatan Harapan (PH) - Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Dr Joohari Ariffin to Perikatan Nasional (PN) candidate Abidin Ismail in the Sungai Bakap state by-election shows that the people reject the policies by the Madani government in Putrajaya and Penang.
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia's Razak Faculty of Technology and Informatics lecturer Associate Professor Dr Mazlan Ali said PH-BN's defeat proved that the people were not satisfied with some of the policy changes being implemented by the government at the moment.
Mazlan said the defeat proved that the people were angry with the actions of the Madani government led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim who announced the targeting of diesel subsidies and plans to continue selling Malaysia Airport Holdings Berhad's (MAHB) shares to pro-Israel company BlackRock.
"Although the diesel targeting policy generally brings a lot of good things including reducing leakages in addition to offering subsidies to those who qualify, the people do not understand and think that it is the cause of the problem of rising prices of goods in the country.
"The BlackRock issue may also cause the people, especially Malay voters, to reject PH-BN in the by-election this time because they think the company is owned by the Israeli regime that killed thousands of Palestinians.
"However, BlackRock is actually a foreign business entity based in the United States, not in Israel but looking after the interests of the Jewish elite," he told Sinar.
Commenting further, Mazlan said the defeat of PH-BN was also a clear signal that Umno had still failed to regain its influence among voters, including the party's 5,000 loyal voters.
Mazlan said that if it was true that Umno had 5,000 loyal voters, then all of their votes should be able to be transferred by the Umno-BN machinery to PH candidates.
"PH's defeat in Sungai Bakap in the last by-election was due to two factors, firstly because of Malay-Muslim sentiments and secondly, the acts of sabotage by Umno supporters and young people who went out to vote for PN candidates," he said.
He said that the defeat of PH-BN in Sungai Bakap showed that the people rejected the sweet promises made by the Madani government to solve various long-standing problems in the area, including the supply of clean water and the construction of Tamil schools.
"If PN wins, it shows that the water issue in Sungai Bakap is the state government's failure to manage essential services, as such problems should not occur in developed states like Penang," he said.
He said PH-BN's defeat in Sungai Bakap would also hamper Umno's efforts to seize the Nenggiri state seat which was won by the PN candidate with a majority of 810 votes in the by-election.
"PN's victory also shows that the green wave, or public support for PN and Pas, remains strong in Kelantan, despite their losses in several previous by-elections," he said.
