Anwar brushes off ‘green wave’ in coming state polls

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BUKIT MERTAJAM – Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has brushed aside the notion of a political “green wave” in the upcoming six state elections. 

He said the issue is more to do with failure to counter fallacious propaganda and racial rhetoric by certain quarters.

“It is about the failure to address some of the concerns. Failure to fight off the incessant propaganda. (These are) nonsensical issues brought up by some PAS leaders.”

Anwar said this after attending Qurban Perdana at the futsal court in Arowana, Permatang Pauh.

Anwar, who is on a half-day visit to mainland Penang, has three programmes here before he heads back to Kuala Lumpur later today.

Questioned about his strategy for the six state elections, the Pakatan Harapan chairman indicated that it would be revealed some time after the Hari Raya Aidiladha season.

He commented that there were “good vibes” at the festive event he was present at, with the crowd also including PAS people.

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PH, BN must deal with opposition’s ‘crazy’ bigotry, says Anwar

BUKIT MERTAJAM: The government has no choice but to deal with the “green wave” and questionable propaganda by the opposition, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim said.

Anwar said he has told Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional component parties to work to fend off any absurd propaganda made in the name of Islam.

“I told them we have to deal with this crazy race and religious bigotry (narrative),” he told reporters at Qurban Perdana Madani at Permatang Pauh.

Anwar was responding to a question on the unity coalition’s ability to weather the green wave, spearheaded by PAS.

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10% vote swing will let BN-PH take Kedah, says Mahfuz

PETALING JAYA: A 10% “swing” of votes at the coming state elections is enough to put Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional in power in Kedah, says state PH chief Mahfuz Omar.

He said the total number of votes cast for BN and PH at the 2022 general election could allow the alliance to take power in Kedah.

“We need to get (back) the votes that went away from BN and PH, which is only around 6% to 7%, he said.

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The spirit of newfound PH-BN coalition and the mindset of young voters

THE drums have already started beating and the state elections are expected to be held early August at the latest.

It will be interesting to see how Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional (PH-BN) work together as teammates in their maiden election outing as they are both ideologically very different.

Political parties see young voters as decisive in polls. The so-called Undi18 group will join other voters in heading to the polls once again.

While outcome of the six state polls will not alter configuration of the existing Federal government, it will nevertheless be seen as a barometer for the support towards Anwar and his unity government, especially among the majority Malay Muslim voters.

The outcome of the state elections in Selangor, Penang, Negri Sembilan, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu will further benchmark not only the coalition’s current performance but prospects of the PH-BN alliance in spearheading the unity government as well as to gauge its chances of winning the next national polls slated for 2027.

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Rafizi to release data on PN’s faltering support

PUTRAJAYA: PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli says he will publish data indicating that support for Perikatan Nasional (PN) is faltering.

Rafizi said the data will pour cold water on claims of a shift in support in PN’s favour in Selangor, Penang, Kedah, Negeri Sembilan, Kelantan and Terengganu.

He also said the data indicated a tough fight between PN and the unity coalition was on the cards in Kedah and Kelantan, rather than in Selangor and Negeri Sembilan.

Rafizi, who is also the economy minister, said he believed PN was claiming its support was growing to cover its weaknesses.

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In Terengganu, they are tired of ‘PAS Palsu’

I left Marang for Kuala Terengganu with mixed feelings about PAS and the current state government.

I was sad for Pok Heng, and had a lot of sympathy for my friend, Pok Di.

Pok Heng deserves a better boat building yard. That would help keep that local economic sector going and take Terengganu’s boat building tradition and industry to the next level.

He could do with a generous grant to train more locals and install more mechanical and electrical equipment which would improve efficiency and productivity.

I imagined a sunset river cruise with dinner served onboard a big wooden dhow similar to the ones used in Dubai but locally built by Poh Heng. That would surely draw in the tourists, I thought.

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YOURSAY | Those 59 seats PKR will contest are in danger

Business First: Based on this report, 59 PKR seats are in danger. If we follow the outcome of the previous state elections, PKR will be lucky to end up winning a quarter of the seats contested. All I can say to all PKR supporters is, be prepared for disappointment.

What I think will happen and will really put us in uncharted territory is if Umno and DAP do okay at the state polls, while PKR crashes.

How will the state government be formed when essentially it would be an Umno-DAP alliance? Will all menteri besar/chief minister posts go to Umno except in Penang?

How will DAP navigate these uncharted waters? Will they maintain their original support base or work to be seen as MCA 2.0?

Oddly, this might be a bigger threat to the federal government. What happens at the state level if relations between two ideological opposites become untenable, for example on the issue of pardon for jailed former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak.

Will Umno be tempted to join with Perikatan Nasional (PN) in some sort of alliance because to be seen with DAP would be untenable to them? What is clear is Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and PKR will continue to still claim the government is strong.

Either way, it would be goodbye to PKR in the long run and maybe hello to Muda.

DAP seats are safe. This can be seen not just in the 14th general election (GE14) but also in the state elections. DAP retains its support. If they lose, it is a marginal loss and usually due to voter turnout as many supporters work outside of their state or Malaysia.

It is surprising that the government under Anwar, which so many here in the comment section worship blindly, cannot even push through simple reforms like making postal voting more accessible.

It is for reasons like these - asking an internet user to apologise to PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, expanding the role of the Department of Islamic Development Malaysia (Jakim), and the lack of resolve to address statelessness among people born and bred in Malaysia for decades - that tells me PKR will bear the brunt of the losses for being ineffectual. For being all talk and no action.

Why? Because the economy is not doing well for those on the ground. This, coupled with the lack of tangible reforms is a vote loser and your moderate supporters will have less motivation to vote.

PKR will do badly but not as badly as previously in Johor and Malacca. At the time, people were disappointed with PKR for producing frogs, denying the people’s mandate of GE14, and their exaggerated sense of self-importance.

Now they will do badly because having the chance to rule, they have overpromised and woefully under-delivered.

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GPS playing safe by staying neutral in state polls, say analysts

PETALING JAYA: Political analysts believe Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) is playing it safe by not getting involved in campaigning for the elections in six peninsula states.

Universiti Malaya (UM) socio-political analyst Awang Azman Pawi said GPS and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) may be “playing it safe” by not committing their coalitions to either side prior to the polls.

“I think they are being careful and taking into account the possibility that Perikatan Nasional (PN) could grow in strength after the state elections.

“Should the unity government fall, it would be easier for GPS to partner with PN,” he told FMT.

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Pointless for Umno to contest polls in 3 PN-held states, says Shahidan

PETALING JAYA: Arau MP Shahidan Kassim believes that Umno’s decision to contest in the three Perikatan Nasional-led states in next month’s state elections will be pointless.

Shahidan said it is highly possible his former party will lose in Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu as Umno members there no longer support the party.

“Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu are PN strongholds. What’s the point of Umno competing? They will lose and only embarrass themselves, and they will eventually lose (all) their influence,” Berita Harian quoted him as saying.

“Though they have an alliance with Pakatan Harapan and may have the numbers to win, Umno have forgotten that their supporters voted for them back then as they said ‘No Anwar No DAP’.

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Unity wave v green wave: big splash in state polls?

GEORGE TOWN – Early predictions by political scientists and observers generally envisage that next month’s six state elections would result in the status quo being maintained, with Pakatan Harapan (PH) retaining Penang, Selangor, and Negri Sembilan. 

There is also a consensus that Perikatan Nasional (PN) will remain in power in Kedah, Terengganu, and Kelantan.

A “national unity wave” will go head-on with the PAS-led right-wing “green wave” with both sides neutralising each other. However, PH may suffer some losses if voter fatigue sets in among its core supporters, who may be reluctant to make their way to polling stations.

This is the second round of major elections within some nine months, as the 15th general election (GE15) was held in November last year. The Election Commission’s stance to allow more time for campaigning will lead to an anxious period ahead for those running.

At the same time, the social media machinery has never rested since the outcome of GE15 – generating much online debate about the state of the nation’s politics.

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