PETALING JAYA: Amanah Youth chief Hasbie Muda has urged Pakatan Harapan’s ministers to go to the ground more often and engage the grassroots to bolster the coalition’s support before the next general election (GE16).
Hasbie said some PH ministers have been spending a lot more time with civil servants instead of party leaders and members at the grassroots level.
He believed close ties between top leaders and the grassroots would also help fend off the racial and religious narratives pushed by PH’s rivals.
“All PH ministers need to go to the ground to meet their leaders and members in state and parliamentary constituencies. They need to listen to the grassroots’ complaints,” he told FMT.
With PH suffering losses in three consecutive state elections, Hasbie said the coalition needs to translate the government’s policies into tangible impact if it hopes to regain support in GE16.
The senator said Putrajaya can pride itself on various statistics concerning the GDP, inflation rate, or foreign investments, but these are meaningless to ordinary Malaysians if they do not feel the economic impact themselves.
Separately, Penang PKR Youth chief Fadzli Roslan said PH leaders must not wait for elections to go to the ground and meet ordinary folk.
While PH was likely to retain the Penang government for another term in the next state polls, Fadzli warned that it would not be as “comfortable” as previous elections.
“Don’t wait for elections to be called before going to the ground. The people want to see elected representatives and leaders who are present even when there are no elections.
“They want leaders who go to the ground, pay attention to their problems, and explain the steps being taken to address these issues,” he said.
PH was nearly wiped out in the Sabah polls in November and suffered heavy losses in the Johor and Negeri Sembilan polls on July 11 and Aug 1, respectively.
Its most costly defeat was in Negeri Sembilan, which PH had governed for eight years, as the Barisan Nasional-Perikatan Nasional alliance secured a two-thirds majority in the state assembly.
PH election director Amirudin Shari had blamed the defeat on the exploitation of identity politics by BN-PN.
