FOR someone who lost in the 14th general election, Liew Chin Tong is being feted like a winner.

There have been continuous interviews, requests for appearances here and there, and accolades like never before.

Liew knows that he is being credited with predicting the political tsunami in Johor, and is being called the strategist behind DAP’s strong showing this year.

The 41-year-old bachelor swats away all praise, saying all he did was understand the political terrain in the southern state – understand that it was ready for a change in leadership.

As early as 2015, he had sensed that Najib Razak and his wife, Rosmah Mansor, had become the most hated figures in the country.

The average Malaysians, who were struggling to make ends meet because of the rising cost of living, could not accept their lavish lifestyle and connection with scandals.

Liew said many surveys conducted in Johor since 2015 showed that Malay support for Barisan Nasional and Najib had dwindled.

At that point, he said, Najib’s popularity had plunged to about 20%. His standing in society never recovered.

“Among Malay voters, his popularity was only 40%,” Liew, the Johor DAP chief, told The Malaysian Insight.

In short, there was a leadership vacuum, with Malaysians unhappy with Najib and his political best friend, PAS’ Abdul Hadi Awang.

After floundering around for a while, the then opposition caught a break. Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s Bersatu joined Pakatan Harapan.

He soon filled the leadership vacuum.

But, it was not a walk in the park. ‎First, Amanah, PKR and DAP had to overcome their reservations about Dr Mahathir.

There was deep-seated animosity in PH, with some remembering that it was Dr Mahathir who jailed opposition icon Anwar Ibrahim in 1998. Several other opposition leaders were jailed under his watch as well.

Liew said the first concrete step towards this realignment was when Dr Mahathir and his party, Bersatu, officially joined PH last year.

“This structure took some time, for all of them to come together and for DAP to accept Dr Mahathir.

“But, it all fell nicely for PH when a consensus was reached that Dr Mahathir was to be the prime minister and Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail his deputy, and Anwar would be the country’s eighth prime minister. The rest is history.”

PH won 36 state seats and picked up 18 parliamentary seats in Johor, the birthplace of Umno.

Liew, who joined DAP in 1999, came within a whisker of unseating MCA’s Wee Ka Siong in the Ayer Hitam federal seat, losing by only 303 votes.

“I didn’t feel bad about losing because by the time I knew I had lost, PH had already captured Putrajaya.

“So, it doesn’t matter, because we won. I went in with my eyes open and knew it was a tough seat, but the main purpose was to generate the wave and wake everyone up to the fact that Johor was winnable.”

Still, he could end up being the winner in Ayer Hitam.

He has instructed his lawyer and former Malaysian Bar president, Yeo Yang Poh, to study the case and see if there is sufficient ground to file an election petition.

Until that issue is cleared, his focus will be on playing a back-room role in helping PH ministers transition into their new jobs. – May 28, 2018.