Analyst: Pakatan blowing hot air over GE results

Muhammad Fuad Othman said the federal opposition is only attempting to “prolong its popularity” while it lasts to “make it to the next national polls.

Pakatan Rakyat’s discontent over the results of the 13th General Election is nothing but to release their “frustration”, said a political analyst today.

Universiti Utara Malaysia School of International Studies senior lecturer Dr Muhammad Fuad Othman said the federal opposition is only attempting to “prolong its popularity” while it lasts to “make it to the next general election”.

“They are just blowing hot air like a pressure cooker to show their frustration… rather than they break down inside, it’s better to shout out,” he said when asked whether the post-election street rallies were justified.

“They want to ride on that popularity so that they can prolong their popularity to the next general election,” opined Muhammad Fuad, while speaking at the “GE13: An analysis and aftermath” seminar today.

“Most of the people who go to the Black 505 rallies are not even eligible to vote… they will be voting in 14th general election, if at all,” he said.

While Pakatan is aware that the Malaysian electoral system has always followed the first-past-the-post mechanism, the opposition is attempting to recreate a sort of “nostalgic feeling” by harping on popular votes it had garnered.

He insisted that voters aged 18 to 25 years are returning to the government while voters aged 25 to 45 are likely to continue supporting the opposition.

“This group is what we like to call the reformasi voters. They have been gassed by the government and feel like they are in a ditch, therefore they tend to be with the opposition,” said Muhammad Fuad.

“Meanwhile, the first channel of voters, those aged 50 and above, are solidly with the government,” he asserted.