AS early as 2015, Liew Chin Tong sensed that Najib Razak and his wife Rosmah Mansor had become the most hated figures in the country.

The DAP Johor chief said many surveys were conducted in the state since 2015 which showed that BN and Najib’s support among Malays had dwindled.

At that point, Liew noted that Najib’s popularity had plunged to about 20%. His standing in society never recovered.

In short, there was a leadership vacuum with Malaysians being unhappy with Najib and his political best friend, PAS’ Abdul Hadi Awang.

After floundering around for a while, the then opposition caught a break. Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s Bersatu joined Pakatan Harapan.

He soon filled the leadership vacuum.