“It’s the economy, stupid.”
THE phrase, famously coined by James Carville during Bill Clinton’s 1992 presidential campaign, was a reminder that voters ultimately make political choices based on the issues that affect their everyday lives, especially their economic well-being.
More than three decades later, it remains relevant, and the Negeri Sembilan election has demonstrated why.
PH has held Negeri Sembilan since 2018. Yet this election saw turnout rise from 68.4% in 2023 to 72.6%, with voters coming out in greater numbers and delivering a clear message by backing BN/PN.
The message is simple: people are struggling, and they are angry.
A July Vodus survey found that 55% of Negeri Sembilan voters ranked the cost of living as their top concern, followed by jobs and wages at 34% and housing at 26%.
The government may point to GDP growth and impressive economic indicators, but ordinary Malaysians are asking a much simpler question: Why aren’t we feeling it in our wallets?
Families remain squeezed by rising prices, inadequate wages and limited savings.
SARA assistance may provide temporary relief, but it cannot compensate for an economy that fails to provide decent, sustainable incomes.
Healthcare costs add another burden. These concerns were raised repeatedly during our engagements with NGOs in Negeri Sembilan.
The same is true for gig workers. The Gig Workers Act continues to classify them as independent contractors rather than employees, while social protection is largely funded from their own earnings.
For a young and increasingly precarious workforce, this is hardly the meaningful protection they were promised.
The Indian community also sent a clear message to Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Indians make up 14.9% of Negeri Sembilan’s 889,490 voters - the highest proportion of any state.
Their numbers exceed 20% in 11 seats and reach roughly a third of the electorate in Jeram Padang.
Our engagements with NGOs indicated that many were satisfied with the state government but wanted to send a message to the federal leadership.
The temple controversy, the dismissive response to the matriculation student and the broader perception that Indian support has been taken for granted have clearly taken a toll.
BN/PN, meanwhile, successfully mobilised Malay voters around the politics of Malay unity, with DAP positioned as the bogeyman and ketuanan Melayu presented as the answer to Malay grievances.
PH cannot counter this politics by simply assuming that voters will remain loyal.
More worrying is that PH itself appears to have lost its reform compass.
Its handling of corruption, the Tan Sri Azam Baki controversy and the growing influence of corporate and labour cartels have eroded confidence among middle-class voters and many of its traditional supporters.
The reformasi promise that brought people into the streets and to the ballot box is increasingly being replaced by political expediency.
Anwar and PH must understand this: voters are not stupid, and they are not loyal forever.
The Negeri Sembilan result is not simply about one election.
It is a warning that economic hardship, broken promises and political arrogance will eventually catch up with any government.
The window to act is closing. The next general election is no longer a distant political event.
PH should remember how it came to power, and why it could just as easily lose it.
Charles Santiago
Former Klang MP
