UMNO-Barisan Nasional may think it could win the general election but it will not be easy as Malaysians are not happy with its performance, Rafizi Ramli said. 

In a ceramah last night, the PKR deputy president said the public was not satisfied with the current economic situation and the youth were not confident of the government’s handling of their future. 

“63% of the people were not happy with the federal government led by Umno vice-president Ismail Sabri Yaakob while 78% of the public is disappointed with the country’s economic situation,” he said. 

“If those in Umno or BN are confident about winning the elections, they have nothing to back that (confidence),” Rafizi said, citing a study conducted by PKR. 

The former lawmaker added that Umno couldn’t be too confident as the youth vote would be unpredictable in GE15. 

“Statistics have shown that 84% of young voters were unhappy with Malaysia’s economic situation as well as the government’s handling of their future. 

“This is because the country’s issues have not changed. In fact, they are getting worse as the cost of living has gone up,” Rafizi said at an Ayuh Malaysia ceramah in Sungai Besar, Selangor. 

The ex-Pandan MP said BN did not manage to settle the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) issue when it was in power, adding that the corporation’s accumulated debt in 2018 was RM40 billion. 

“We tried to fix the issue by making sure that those earning more than RM4,000 should pay for these loans and those who were not earning enough did not have to pay them. We were going to find another way to pay back those loans. 

“However, the debt accumulated (by BN) was too much. This is why it is important to vote for a government who can strengthen the economy,” he said. 

Rafizi, however, noted that PH would have a difficult task in fixing issues in the country if it won the election. 

“When PH won in 2018, oil prices had to be stabilised as subsidies were needed to keep chief executive officers from getting extra money into their pockets. 

“Najib (former prime minister Najib Razak) thought it was wise to cut subsidies then, but look at the situation now. 

“The Muhyiddin Yassin and Ismail-led governments did not dare to cut subsidies as they knew it was a mistake,” he added. – October 25, 2022.