IF there is anything to be learnt from the opposition’s crushing defeat in yesterday’s Johor elections, is that it needs to unite, or lose the next general election, Mohamad Sabu said.

The Amanah president said the low voter turnout had also affected Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) performance in the polls.

“To me, the results show that Barisan Nasional (BN) has not grown in strength, but instead benefitted from clear divisions among the opposition,” he said in a statement on his Facebook page today.

The Kota Raja lawmaker said in terms of ballots cast throughout the state, non-BN parties had collectively taken nearly 200,000 more votes than BN.

“With those 200,000 votes, if divided evenly across 56 constituencies, opposition parties could overcome BN with a nearly 4,000-vote majority.

“This is a lesson for us all on how we should close ranks and strategise together to confront the looming 15th general election,” he said.

This being the case, Mat Sabu, as he is known to supporters, said if opposition parties do not unite, it will lose in the next general election.

Mohamad said the poor turnout yesterday, particularly among Chinese Malaysian voters, which the pact had anticipated, had also resulted in defeat in some seats.

“This caused PH to lose in its mixed-seat strongholds,” he said.

In yesterday’s ballot, BN won 40 out of 56 seats in the state.

PH won 12 seats, 11 of which were secured by DAP under the coalition’s logo. PKR had decided to contest under its own flag and managed one solitary seat.

Muhyiddin Yassin’s Perikatan Nasional won three seats, with the former prime minister calling the coalition “an underdog”.

Youth-based party Muda, an ally of PH, also won one seat.

None of the other new parties, including Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s Pejuang and PKR splinter Parti Bangsa Malaysia, won any seats. – March 13, 2022.