PKR has less than three years to prevent Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim from facing the same fate as former United Kingdom premier Rishi Sunak, said its Pasir Gudang lawmaker Hassan Abdul Karim.

In a statement, Hassan urged Putrajaya to build the right narrative and back its words with action so the people can put food on the table and not be burdened with the rising cost of living.

“When inflation decreases and workers’ wages increase, maybe a large part of the people, especially the B40 and the M40 groups will adopt a more friendly attitude and support PKR, Pakatan Harapan (PH) and the Madani government,” he said.

Hassan’s comment comes after the unity government’s defeat in the Sungai Bakap by-election on Saturday.

Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) Abidin Ismail garnered 14,489 votes to win the seat with a majority of 4,267 votes against Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) Joohari Ariffin who garnered 10,222 votes.

PN retained the seat with a larger majority compared to the state elections last year.

In the state elections last year, PN’s Nor Zamri Latiff won the seat with a majority of 1,563 votes against PN’s Nurhidayah Che Rus.

The by-election was triggered by Nor Zamri’s death on May 24.

Hassan said the unity government’s defeat in the Sungai Bakap by-election yesterday was also due to national issues, especially the impact of the rationalisation of diesel subsidy implemented by the government in recent months.

“I tried to support the Harapan candidate and the government on the targeted diesel subsidy issue.

“However. my speech was bland. I saw Harapan supporters themselves were defensive on the diesel subsidy issue,” said the Pasir Gudang lawmaker.

Hassan said Anwar’s bold and loud stance on the international stage in defence of the Palestinians strengthened his position in the eyes of the Malays in Malaysia who have had emotional and sentimental ties with the Muslims in Palestine.

He said for a while it appeared to boost his image among the community.

“But it started to collapse when Anwar, who is also the finance minister and Khazanah Nasional chairperson, agreed to sell part of Malaysia Airports Holdings Berhad’s (MAHB) shares to the Global Infrastructure Partners (GIP).

“GIP is set to be acquired by BlackRock, an international investment company of the United States that strongly supports the Israeli regime,” he added. – July 7, 2024.