PAKATAN Harapan has to convince the fence-sitters and address the plight of the people if it wants to make an impact in the general election, PKR’s Rafizi Ramli said.

The former Pandan MP said if the people’s issues were not rectified, PH would come in behind Barisan Nasional and Perikatan Nasional.

“Our campaign now is to get the fence-sitters. We need to address the issues the people are facing,” he said at the “Terpaling Terus Terang” talk last night on Facebook.

He said he was returning to active politics to assist PKR after the party’s crashing defeat in the March 12 Johor polls.

“The decision to come back is because of what happened in Johor. Now is the time to come in and help contribute to GE15,” he said.

On March 15, Rafizi announced he would run for PKR deputy president next month. 

The party vice-president took a sabbatical in 2018 after a conviction caused him to sit out of the general election the same year.

Rafizi said yesterday that PKR could not ignore the needs of the people.

“We are a party that voices out the issues of the people. If we are not careful we will become separated from the people.

“Before 2018 we were seen to be raising the issues of the rakyat. But after losing (power) all the talk has been how to get back into Putrajaya.”

Rafizi said that what the people want is a strong opposition, so that when the coalition comes together they can win over BN.

“We cannot run away from the fact that our strength comes from voicing the issues faced by the people.

On how PH or PKR president Anwar Ibrahim could strengthen the party, Rafizi said the people wanted was change and protection of their welfare.

“They (people) are not bothered about other issues but the economy and their well-being.

“The way to win is to implement policies for the people. We have to convince the fence-sitters that if they choose us, their lives will be better.”

He said the best way to attract the voters was to return to the formula before 2018, which was to solve the issues of the people.

“Cost of living, hikes in food prices… policies must be in place to solve all this issues. What can any party do to bring them out of this rut?”

Nurul Izzah Anwar, who was also on the panel, said that it was an injustice that the PH government had fallen after just 22 months due to defections.

“But after that, it was the people who were affected. We have to listen to the people. The politicians must listen to the people.”

On what PKR could do to win voters, Nurul said the main challenge the party faced in the Johor elections was communication.

“Communicate with simple and clear messages. What was lacking was (communication via) social media.

“The message should be clear: what we are offering to help the well-being of the people. It was difficult.”

In the Johor polls, BN bagged 40 of the 56 seats, trouncing PH, which took 11, only one of which , was won by PKR.  – March 20, 2022.