BARISAN Nasional underestimated Dr Mahathir Mohamad and paid the price for it when the coalition was ousted after 60 years in power at GE14, said Syed Hamid Albar. 

The former home and foreign affairs minister said it was wrong to blame slander, as former BN chairman and Umno president Najib Razak did, for the loss.

“BN cannot blame anyone. This is the time to reflect on the cause of the loss. This is also not because of economic factor and slander. 

“They (the rakyat) wanted change. And I have written about this wave of change because it could be felt, that’s why I didn’t understand when BN seemed so complacent and didn’t feel the urgency of to change,” he was quoted as saying by Berita Harian. 

Najib said voters failed to appreciate BN’s contributions and believed Pakatan Harapan’s falsehoods. 

Syed Hamid added that BN was in denial and failed to counter the negative perception surrounding it. 

Voters also rejected BN because of the way it handled many issues and scandals, he said. – May 22, 2018.