COMMENT | Talk of 2018 replay may land Harapan in nightmare

COMMENT | The jailing of former prime minister Najib Abdul Razak, which demonstrates the power of votes, has encouraged some to talk about a replay of Pakatan Harapan’s 2018 victory. Perhaps they believe this is the only way the coalition can “get out the votes”.

If a replay of 2018 can excite Harapan voters, would it not also alarm Umno and PAS voters who want them to join forces, and turn the 15th general election (GE15) into an ethnic census?

Some opinion leaders even think Harapan can win in a showdown between multi-ethnic politics and Malay-Muslim nationalism, apparently because the two successive governments after Harapan have performed poorly.

What if BN or Perikatan Nasional (PN) gets more votes despite their “poor performance”? Many Harapan supporters would explain that such voters are living in rural areas (ignoring that 78 percent of Malaysia’s population live in urban areas) and are suffering from a digital divide (ignoring that 97 percent of Malaysians use the internet).

It’s basically saying, in a polite way...