Amid defection controversy, Adly believes Harapan can pivot to track record
MALACCA POLLS | Pakatan Harapan's campaign in the Malacca polls got off to a rocky start with much of the narrative being sidetracked by its controversial cooperation with Umno defectors Idris Haron and Nor Azman Hassan.
However, Malacca Pakatan Harapan chief Adly Zahari, who was the chief minister when the coalition led the Malacca government from 2018 to 2020, believes they have something to show despite its short tenure of only 22 months.
Under his stewardship, Adly (above) said the state government had introduced policies that were friendly to the rural population despite its support being vastly dependent on urban and semi-urban voters.
"An example of this was our state land policy, where the Harapan government awarded pieces of land to the local community.
"I believe this would be somewhat of a challenge to BN. Some of the recipients are Malaccans in the Tanjung Bidara area, who had been waiting for almost 30 years to get their land. However, we did it in only 22 months.
"These are the people who had been living on land near the beach area there, so we gave the land to them. People in the rural areas also got many other benefits, including housing them," Adly told Malaysiakini in an interview.
Tanjung Bidara is a BN stronghold that the coalition won with the largest margin.
Harapan's candidate there, Zainal Hassan of PKR, is relatively less known among the people, compared with his BN rival Ab Rauf Yusoh, who is the state Umno Youth chief and PN candidate Mas Ermieyati Samsudin, who is a deputy minister.
Amid the noise of the campaign period, Adly expressed confidence that the coalition can pivot on Harapan's track record as the Malacca government in order to convince voters.
"If we want to gain support from the people, it means we have to depend a lot on what we have done for them.
"That was why, back then when we won the election with most of the support coming from urban and suburban areas, policies that we introduced covered everybody.
"All our policies and the incentives that Harapan had given when we were in power... I believe it would be a strong basis for the people in making their choice," Adly said.
'Harapan's housing policy benefitted a wide range'
He added that Harapan's housing policy had also benefitted a wide range of groups, including the poor, middle-income groups and youths.
They include its Rumah Berkat programme, where youths could rent a house for as low as RM150 per month, and Rumah Harapan, which is affordable for those in the M40 income bracket.
Traditionally, the Harapan component parties have only been able to win in the urban centres of Malacca but they made unprecedented gains in the 2018 general election, gaining new footholds in semi-urban areas, although most rural seats stuck with BN.
This allowed Harapan to scrap through a win, gaining 15 out of 28 seats in the Malacca state assembly.
However, the Harapan state government collapsed due to defections in 2020 and an attempt to retake power last month, by cooperating with Umno and Bersatu defectors, was unsuccessful and this sparked the fresh state polls.
Faced with multiple recent setbacks, including losing Bersatu as a coalition member, voter disillusionment and the likelihood of a low turnout due to the Covid-19 pandemic, Harapan is now finding itself struggling to hold on to the gains it made in 2018.
However, with government supporters now split between BN and PN, which are part of a coalition government at the federal level but are fighting each other in the Malacca polls, the outcome remains unclear.
Adly said Harapan previously found it challenging to woo voters because Malacca never had any other government than BN, and thus they had no one else to compare with in terms of capability.
But with the changes brought by GE14, he added, Malaccans can now make comparisons in terms of service offered by the different governments from many aspects, including welfare, education and economy.
He said Harapan had also cut many red tapes in procedures for the rakyat to get welfare assistance, including stopping the practice of applicants having to get support letters before they can be considered for aid.
"Now, the people have seen how we governed the state, and compare it to the other party."
Adly acknowledged that the loss of Bersatu, which had helped Harapan to get some rural Malay votes, has impacted Harapan.
However, he maintained that the track record that Harapan has in governing Malacca would balance the loss.
"Of course, if we look at it (the split), each side had lost some support and gained some. I do not deny that we now no longer have Bersatu's support as Bersatu is no longer with Harapan.
"But, as I said earlier, Harapan has the advantage of having led the state for 22 months, which surely would bring in some more support.
"This balance is important. And the ones who will decide which party will win are the rakyat," Adly added.
The 12-day campaign for the Malacca election started on Nov 8. Polling day is on Nov 20. - Mkini
✍ Credit given to the original owner of this post : ☕ Malaysians Must Know the TRUTH
🌐 Hit This Link To Find Out More On Their Articles...🏄🏻♀️ Enjoy Surfing!
Post a Comment