[UPDATED] Improve communication of successes to rakyat, Nurul Izzah tells govt

PETALING JAYA – Nurul Izzah Anwar joined the chorus of voices demanding that the government agencies tasked with public communication be enhanced.

The PKR vice-president took to Instagram to offer her take on the recently concluded state elections, hinting that the good work of the current government was not being properly communicated to the masses.

She remarked that they were still stuck in the pandemic mindset where voters were consistently focused on the economic emergency and the cost of living despite statistics showing that economic inflation had decreased.

“...I join the chorus of voices demanding for the government’s communication agencies to be strengthened so that initiatives, success stories and the good efforts of the unity government will reach the rakyat directly,” Nurul Izzah said on Instagram.

Speaking about the cooperation between Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional (BN), the former Permatang Pauh MP said while the dynamics of vote transfers between both coalitions needed improvement, the bridge has been successfully built.

Meanwhile, Nurul Izzah admitted that she was among those who had miscalculated in not wanting to hold the state elections together with the 15th general election (GE15) last November.

At the time, PH and PAS-ruled states opted not to dissolve their state assemblies after then prime minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob dissolved the Parliament earlier than its five-year due date.

“Clearly, holding both at the same time could have produced the intended momentum for maximum voter turnout,” she said.

The turnout for the six state elections was over 70% in four states; Kedah, Selangor, Penang and Terengganu. Negri Sembilan recorded 68.35% while Kelantan was the lowest at a mere 60.39%. Evidently, this was less than desirable for PH-BN as there were areas such as Taman Medan in Selangor which saw Perikatan Nasional (PN) winning by 30 votes, with 17,357 registered voters not voting.

Nurul Izzah said the several months between the November polls and the six state elections saw the inability to eradicate the “green wave” sentiment, coupled with other factors such as macroeconomy and present psychology.

“The truth is PAS managed to get to the hearts of our youth, and I admit I miscalculated in not wanting the state elections to be held together with the GE,” she said. – The Vibes, August 14, 2023