KUCHING: Barisan Nasional (BN) will lose again in the 15th general election (GE 15) if Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) attacks continue unabated.
According to political analyst from Universiti Malaya, Associate Professor Dr Awang Azman Awang Pawi, UMNO president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zaid Hamidi’s statement that the general election should be held early or BN will lose is based on the current reality of the country’s political landscape.
Awang Pawi said, BN is now depending on the split in the opposition coalition to enable it to win the upcoming GE 15. “At the moment, PH’s attacks are gaining momentum and if this continues, BN will be defeated due to the political attacks of perception played by the opposition,” explained Awang Azman when contacted yesterday.
He also agreed with Ahmad Zaid’s statement that delaying GE15 would give the opposing party an opportunity to continue attacking UMNO-BN.
“When the room for negotiation and cooperation among the opposition becomes more open, the unity of the opposition is expected to be better,” he added.
Regarding the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s statement that it is difficult to hold early GE15 due to too many problems facing the people and country, and are still not being resolved, in addition to the global economic slowdown, Awang Azman explained that there is no absolute guarantee that it will be resolved because it is a global issue which is affecting the whole world.
“The possibility of the situation getting worse in the future is also inevitable,” he added. He also did not expect the court’s decision regarding the case of former prime minister Datuk Seri Mohd Najib Tun Razak and the court case of Ahmad Zahid would affect BN’s chances of winning in GE15.
“In the Malacca, Johor and Sarawak state elections (PRN), the people’s issues and also the court cases and scandals of Najib and Zahid and other UMNO leaders had no significant impact.
“This means that it is just a storm in the cup and will not have a significant impact, in fact, it will not affect the chances of Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) in GE15,” he said.
He also thinks that the latest scandal regarding the controversial Littoral Combat Ship (LCS) will not affect the Umno BN government’s chances as long as there is no court conviction.
