BARISAN Nasional will still lose if the general election is held now, said Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

“Although people say we will lose if we have elections today, we are confident we will win again. Nobody wants Najib Razak to lead again as he has taken a lot of money,” said the Pakatan Harapan chairman after chairing the coalition’s presidential meeting, in Kuala Lumpur, today.

He said although the naysayers were predicting defeat for PH due to the negative public sentiment, he believed the government had not done anything wrong.

“We discussed it and found that we have done no wrong but our communication is weak. We also found that when we talk to the press about our successes, the media asks about controversies. 

“We found that there are quarters that raise race and religious issues and this can be resolved by the cabinet. But because there are too many reports that cause anger, a small issue has been blown out of proportion and has split Malaysians,” said Dr Mahathir, on the eve of Malaysia’s 62nd Independence Day.

Malaysia, said Dr Mahathir, was by and large a peaceful country and Malaysians should be thankful for that.

“These extreme parties should be thankful that Malaysia is a peaceful country. Although there are race and religious problems, they are not serious compared to other multiracial countries that fight wars over them.

“These countries fight among themselves because of extremists. 

“If we and the media allow ourselves to be influenced by the extremists by inflaming racial tensions, we will become like those in the Middle East. If we play with race and religious issues, we will be at war with one another and become like them.”

That PH leaders were responsible for some of the racial rhetoric was due to lack of comprehension, he said.

“At times, the grassroots leaders don’t understand the issues at hand and are vocal.”

He said the government would hold more discussions with the media so that it understood the situation.

“We have decided to communicate more with the media so that Malaysians understand that we are really a peaceful country despite our diversity.”

It is hoped that the media would highlight the fact, he said.

He said the media should compare Malaysia to the countries that had war because of minor differences in the interpretation of religion instead of comparing it to countries that were at peace such as the United States.

“But even America has its racial issues.”

Bersatu Supreme Council member Dr Rais Husin had recently told a forum that PH would lose should a snap election be held today because of the Umno-PAS alliance. Dr Mahathir yesterday said the PH component party, which he chairs, could take action against Rais for making such comments

Asked today if the PH presidential council had discussed Rais’ fate in the party, Dr Mahathir said the matter was not raised. – August 30, 2019.