PAKATAN Harapan might have popularised the word “kleptocracy” among Malaysians through its natiowide roadshow but it still needs to offer policies and solutions to get their vote, analysts said. 

Riding on the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) scandal and other national issues would not be enough for PH to win in the next election, they said.

Ilham Centre executive director Hisomuddin Bakar said he had attended several of the roadshow events, and he observed that people were generally fed up with the nation’s problems and the many issues raised by the opposition.

Many he said, questioned what PH had to offer, other than running down the administration of Prime Minister Najib Razak. 

“They were waiting for PH leaders to offer solutions, while evaluating the unity among the coalition’s component parties,” Hisomuddin said.

That was why, he said, the large crowds at the PH “Love Malaysia, End Kleptocracy” roadshow would not necessarily translate into votes for the opposition.

He said people who went to the roadshow’s events were interested to see national personalities like Dr Mahathir Mohamad, and listen to issues “from the horse’s mouth”.

“But how far does their attendance translates into votes for PH is still a question. If we look at the voting pattern of those in rural communities, the people are traditionally more inclined to vote for the ‘party’s brand’ than anything else.

“The 14th general election will answer this question for us,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

Awareness may influence voting

However, independent political analyst Dr Samsu Adabi Mamat said the roadshow could influence voting behaviour for people who were already unhappy with the powers that be.

He said political gatherings could give people the awareness to act for change.

“The people’s acceptance of BN now is reduced. There are survey results showing that people are unhappy with the GST (Goods and Services Tax), rising cost of living, prices of goods and the poor value of the ringgit.

“People are going through hardship, but they do not know what to do about it. The roadshow helped, they learnt about what is happening in the country and have become more aware of the need to take action for change to happen,” he said.

The former Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia academician said if people believed that BN was not doing a good job, they might go home after an opposition ceramah feeling excited about the coming polls, waiting in anticipation to make their votes count.

“They will use their votes as a means of protest (against the current administration),” Samsu said.

The Mahathir factor

Hisomuddin has no doubts about PH chairman Dr Mahathir’s contribution to the success of the roadshow.

At 92, the former prime minister covered almost the entire country speaking in urban and rural areas, including Felda settlements.

Hisomuddin said without the influence of the late PAS spiritual leader Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat and jailed PKR de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim, Dr Mahathir was the crowd-puller.

“From the time Dr Mahathir started to collect signatures for his ‘Deklarasi Rakyat’ last year, until he was named PH chairman, he has infiltrated the rural Malay heartland – places the opposition never could penetrate in the past.

“That threatens Umno’s dominance in theses areas. Umno can no longer be complacent,” he said.

Dr Mahathir, who had been speaking at two to three anti-kleptocracy ceramah a week, recently said that the ceramah had been a success, having attracted huge crowds, including Umno and PAS supporters “who always stayed in the dark”. 

Samsu said Dr Mahathir’s party Bersatu had also been well-received at the roadshow – another sign of the ceramah achieving success.

“Some ceramah-goers ended up being drawn to politics. Many signed up to be party members. Bersatu is said to have been successful in registering new members at the roadshow,” he said.

People waiting for a solution

Samsu also said with the people’s livelihood being the core issue, people were looking for changes like the removal of GST, tackling of rising prices, and political and economic stability.

“People want the country to have a good reputation, a healthy ringgit, improved investor confidence, and a better economy that will provide better opportunities for all,” he said.

The nationwide anti-kleptocracy roadshow was organised by PH following the move by the US Department of Justice to seize assets worth US$540 million (RM2.3 billion), allegedly bought using money siphoned from state investor 1MDB. 

The ceramah that kicked off in Penaga, Penang, on July 6, largely catered to rural and sub-rural Malay communities. 

Apart from the scandal, the speakers highlighted economic and bread-and-butter issues, and pledged to scrap the GST should PH take Putrajaya in the next election.

But for that to happen, Hisomuddin said, people needed to see a united opposition coalition.

“Unity in the coalition can give the people confidence that PH can form a better government than the present one,” he said.

PH will end the three-month tour with a mega anti-kleptocracy rally in Petaling Jaya today where all its leaders are expected to attend. – October 14, 2017.