SG PETANI – Kedah Pakatan Harapan (PH) has banked on the youth as its voting base as it believes they are eager for change, unlike the older generation who are set in their ways.
“The young are aggressive by nature, and they want reforms because for the past three years, they have witnessed a subpar performance by the government, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.
“They have also seen that rot has begun to set in the country, as they are slapped with poor quality jobs which result in low wages, unpredictable climate change, and a general decline in the quality of life, unlike what their parents and grandparents had lived through earlier.
“At least back then, the purchasing power of the ringgit was evident as it was strong against the Thai baht or the Singapore dollar,” said Kedah PH chairman Datuk Mahfuz Omar.
Speaking to The Vibes, Mahfuz said even when the nation had been under a state of emergency, the living costs had still been manageable – unlike now where the prices of food changes daily.
“The youth are desperate to an extent; some are seeking better jobs overseas only to have fallen victims to job scams.
“They need someone to blame and I think a fair bit of the fault will be aimed at this present government,” said Mahfuz.
He further expected the young to take out their frustration with the government at the ballot boxes.
It was reported that the coming general election will see the electorate grow by up to six million, with the majority of new voters made up of those who automatically qualified after the voting age was reduced to 18 two years ago.
Taking into account numerous surveys, Mahfuz said PH was fairly confident of gaining support from the youth on polling day.
“They want changes, and they are not bothered about the old parties such as PAS or Barisan Nasional (BN).
“They were not even born to enjoy the good governance done in the 1960s, 1970s, to the 1980s. The young are born in the era of disruption.
“So, their mindset is that they will not be beholden to anyone, and even though they may be sensitive to their own race and religion, they would not subscribe to extremist tendencies,” he said.
As such, Mahfuz opined that this would give a slight edge to PH, whose members in turn must overcome any internal strife to work as a cohesive unit to deliver victory.
“We can replicate the 2018 success if we know what needs to be done.”
Hence, Mahfuz said that PH plans to grab a majority of the 15 parliamentary seats on offer in Kedah, despite being pitted against Umno-led BN, Perikatan Nasional, which PAS leads, and Pejuang, led by former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
When asked about disagreements over seat distributions in a couple of constituencies, Mahfuz replied that it was a small matter, which could be ironed out over the next few days.
Amanah is understood to have agreed to give up the Jerai parliamentary seat in Kedah to DAP, triggering strong objections from the state party chapter and division members.
In return, the Alor Gajah federal constituency in Melaka, which has been traditionally contested by DAP prior to the 2018 general election, is now set to be given to Amanah.
“Our members and supporters are wise enough to know that there would often be disagreements, but we must be mature to see our common enemy is not us but the likes of Umno and PAS,” said the former PAS vice-president.
He also confirmed that the state PH plans to reveal the candidates for the majority of the 15 parliamentary seats tonight. – The Vibes, October 29, 2022
