A PKR man said it will be hard for Barisan Nasional (BN) to win the 15th general election (GE15) as Malaysians are not happy with the coalition’s performance.
According to Rafizi Ramli who cited statistics from PKR’s own survey, 63% of people surveyed were unhappy with the caretaker federal government led by Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
“Also, 78% of the public is disappointed with the country’s economic situation. If those in UMNO or BN are confident about winning the elections, they have nothing to back that (confidence),” FMT quoted the PKR deputy president as saying at an “Ayuh Malaysia” campaign in Sungai Besar last night.
He also noted that how the youth vote would be unpredictable in GE15, although according to his party’s statistics 84% of young voters were not happy with the country’s economic situation alongside the Government’s handling of their future.
“This is because the country’s issues have not changed. In fact, they are getting worse as the cost of living has gone up,” the former Pandan MP pointed out, adding that Pakatan Harapan (PH) would have its work cut out in fixing the issues plaguing the country should it emerge victorious in GE15.
Rafizi also acknowledged that former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak would cut down on subsidies for the people when he helmed the government.
“When PH won in 2018, oil prices had to be stabilised as subsidies were needed to keep CEOs from getting extra money into their pockets,” he said.
“Najib thought it was wise to cut subsidies then, but look at the situation now. The Muhyiddin Yassin and Ismail-led governments did not dare to cut subsidies as they knew it was a mistake.”
Meanwhile Rafizi noted that BN had failed to resolve the issues involving the National Higher Education Fund Corporation (PTPTN) and had instead managed to accumulate about RM40 bil in debt in 2018.
“We tried to fix the issue by making sure that those earning more than RM4,000 should pay for these loans and those who were not earning enough did not have to pay them. We were going to find another way to pay back these loans,” he justified.
“However, the debt accumulated was too much and this is why it is important to vote for a government who can strengthen the economy.” – Oct 25, 2022
Main pic credit: Utusan Malaysia
