PAKATAN Harapan has stopped listening to the people, said Bersatu member Dr Rais Hussin Mohamed Ariff, who also warned that should an election be held now, the pact would lose it.

“We have to start listening to the people. We are now doing what Barisan Nasional used to do. We are falling,” the former chief strategist said at a “Post GE14 by-elections: Implications for GE15” panel session in Gombak, Selangor, today.

The Bersatu supreme council member, who is the founder and director of Emir research think-tank, warned that if an election were to be held now, the Umno-PAS pact would easily sweep the votes.

“Given the current sentiment, if we were to have an election tomorrow, the new Umno-PAS pact would win, hands down.” 

He reminded his coalition colleagues that having power alone was not enough and that it was crucial to address pertinent issues.

These issues, Rais said, included cost of living, quality of life, job creation and unemployment, affordable housing and healthcare.

The government, he said, was misplacing its priorities by highlighting things such as the flying car and third national car projects, and creating jobs through Indonesia’s motorcycle ride-hailing company Go-Jek.

Rais’ damning verdict comes just days after another prominent pro-PH activist had said Malaysians were feeling disappointed with the government because of the behaviour of some of its leaders.

Prominent lawyer and human rights activist Ambiga Sreenevasan had recently called on PH to avoid serving narrow interests and work for the whole nation.

In a series of tweets, she had said Malaysia needed more statesmen instead of politicians, as statesmen think of the next generation, whereas politicians “only think(s) of the next elections”.

“I understand how people feel. Every time you expect the leaders to behave in a reasonable fashion, some let you down so badly. It’s as if we do not really matter, only staying in power.

“We thought they were different,” she said.

Others, too, have accused PH of failing to deliver its promised reforms for a new Malaysia.

In recent weeks, the government and some ministers were seen to have failed to address issues pertaining to the introduction of Jawi writing for Year 4 vernacular school pupils starting next year.

Groups still oppose the move, even after the government’s compromise to scale the syllabus down from six pages to three.

The government has also been urged to come down harder on controversial preacher Zakir Naik, who allegedly offended Malaysian Hindus and Chinese in a speech earlier this month.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had said Putrajaya would not deport the Indian national, who has Malaysian permanent resident status, as his life may be in jeopardy if he were to return to India and that there were no guarantees the preacher would get a fair trial for the money-laundering charges brought against him.

Zakir is, however, also under police investigations for his comments here. – August 28, 2019.