In Mahathir’s new Malaysia, a perfect storm for the Pakatan Harapan?
- Almost a year after Pakatan Harapan’s shock electoral victory, the coalition has been rattled by opponents clawing their way back to relevance and voters clamouring for a faster pace of change.
- Teething problems or something more?
Most recently, the United Malays National Organisation (Umno), which led the Barisan Nasional coalition that governed Malaysia for 61 years, teamed up with its long-time foe, the Islamic Party of Malaysia (PAS), to better court the country’s majority Malay-Muslim population – which is also its biggest vote bank.
The Umno-PAS alliance served the two parties well in a recent by-election, which saw Pakatan Harapan lose a seat in its stronghold state of Selangor.
Even Najib Razak, the disgraced former premier and Umno president who is facing multiple corruption charges, has managed to turn public perceptions around with a carefully crafted campaign with the tagline “Malu apa, bossku?” – or “Why the shame, boss?”.
Its implication is that Najib has nothing to be ashamed of, and the campaign has rebranded him as a motorcycle-riding, hoodie-wearing man of the people, a far cry from the aristocratic image he previously cultivated.