TO err is human, surely.

Pakatan Harapan (PH) seems to have learnt little from the past, good or bad. Making misguided decisions has become a habit. What PH leaders seem to be learning, is how to make more mistakes.

They appear to still be caught in a time warp of figuring out why they were unceremoniously removed from Putrajaya in February 2020.

Each of the component parties in the PH coalition have become self-absorbed. Each believed in their own lies, which repeated so often, became truth to them. Habits formed after that historic day in 2018 became too difficult to shed.

These leaders believe in their own charisma and are confident that their supporters will follow anything they say. They speak endlessly of how successful their policies were during the 22 months in Putrajaya and how well-liked they are.

Post-Johor elections, the self-defeating behaviour of PH leaders surfaced immediately pathetic excuses such as they would have won if not for the three- or four-cornered fights that split the opposition’s votes, if not for the low turnout of voters PH would have done better,  or that the opposition should regroup for GE 15, including the possibility of forming an alliance with Perikatan Nasional, whose lynchpin, Bersatu, was the main cause for the fall of the PH government.

After seven by-elections post-May 2018, followed by the state elections in Sabah and Sarawak, it was clear even to the man on the street that the rakyat in general are more concerned about how to bring growth to the country than subscribing to PH’s theme of how the country must not allow kleptocrats and the court cluster to return to power. PH is still playing the same song in the Malacca and johor elections.

The results of the Malacca and Johor elections indicate that Umno and Barisan Nasional (BN) have benefitted from a widespread desire for political stability. Unfortunately for the rakyat, this stability does not mean that Umno/BN will be able to navigate the type of future that the country will face post-pandemic and the effects of the Russia-Ukraine conflict – given the capability shown by Umno/BN leaders in handling the ministries they have been tasked with.

To prepare for GE 15 and to avoid repeating history, maybe it is best that PH start to think about the future, what they want to accomplish and try to view it from a fresh perspective that can lead them down a more successful road.

Announcing the names of the candidates for all the seats the coalition will be contesting way before Parliament is dissolved is one. Do not leave it to the last minute as practised.

Making known a timeline for the departure of the present line-up of leaders and the next generation of leaders that will be succeeding them is another positive step.

Instead of harping on corruption, present new and alternative ideas for growth and not ideas on how to stop corruption and manage costs, as both issues are already endemic and cannot be resolved within one generation. – March 14, 2022.

*FLK reads The Malaysian Insight.