'Traitor', 'backdoor govt' labels losing firepower ahead of polls

As political parties kick into higher gear ahead of the 15th general election (GE15), widely expected to be called within weeks, one question up for debate is whether Perikatan Nasional (PN) will be able to shake the familiar labels of "traitor" and "backdoor government" come polling day.

Such calls are rooted in the origin of the coalition, which took over Putrajaya in early 2020 after the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government.

The coming together of Bersatu, Barisan Nasional (BN), PAS and Gabungan Parti Sarawak in the so-called Sheraton Move at the eponymous hotel in Petaling Jaya was slammed by PH leaders who described it as unethical and a blot on the democratic system.

It also led to the anti-party hopping law which was recently passed by unanimous vote in the Dewan Rakyat.

But at least some segments of voters appear unfazed by the narrative espoused primarily by PH in the run-up to the polls.

A group of youths met at a fast food outlet near Seri Kembangan in Selangor in fact said that the change of government in 2020 was a positive development.

Readily admitting that they had little knowledge of politics, they were nonetheless lively in their exchange of views on the Sheraton Move, which resulted in the appointment of Muhyiddin Yassin to replace Dr Mahathir Mohamad as prime minister.

The general consensus among them was not in favour of PH.

"We don't like PH," they said. "Their manifesto wasn't a holy book. What good did they think they would do in the government?"

One of them, Muhamad Nazleen, said PN had done a better job of managing the country, especially during the Covid-19 pandemic.

"They gave the people moratoriums, which helped a lot. My own family had a lot of outstanding payments to the bank," Nazleen, who works as an e-hailing driver, added.

He and his friends said they would pay no mind to campaigns centred on criticism of the controversial transition of power.

Their views appear in line with the results of a survey conducted in April 2021 by independent pollster Merdeka Center for Opinion Research.

The study placed Muhyiddin's popularity as prime minister at 67%, with 74% of voters of the opinion that the government had helped those in need during the pandemic against 25% who believed otherwise.

Political analyst Ahmad Atory Hussain said reactions to the "traitor" narrative would depend on economic background.

Atory, of Universiti Sains Malaysia, said those in the middle class would be less swayed as they understood the politics of the people's mandate through the election system and the majority support of MPs.

Speaking to MalaysiaNow, he said opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim had also made use of statutory declarations (SDs) in an attempt to mirror Muhyiddin in taking over power.

"But he did not succeed," he said. "Not many MPs supported him in this.

"The same people who talk about treason have done similar things themselves," he added.

"Anwar tried to get enough SDs to become the prime minister. He and Ahmad Zahid Hamidi also brought down the Melaka and Johor governments last year," he said, referring to the state polls attributed to moves by PKR and Umno.

"But none of this was legally wrong."

If the narrative of traitor had indeed gained traction, he said, Bersatu might not have won any seats in the Sabah state election in September 2020, which saw Gabungan Rakyat Sabah defeating the Warisan-PH coalition.

"Muhyiddin might not have gotten any support at all," he said.

"But the reality is, Bersatu is now getting more and more attention."