Pakatan facing defeat in next two GE before voters accept it again, says Nurul Izzah

PETALING JAYA: It will take at least 10 years and two general election defeats before Pakatan Harapan is likely to have a shot at taking over Putrajaya again, says Nurul Izzah Anwar (pic).

In an interview with Sinar Harian, the Permatang Pauh MP predicted that the years ahead would be challenging for Pakatan, as it is expected to lose parliamentary and state seats in the 15th General Election.

The former PKR vice-president added that because of this, the coalition must be an Opposition with dignity that is able to offer something different compared to the previous general election.

"I think it will not be easy for Pakatan to win the coming election and we must be prepared to lose two general elections before seeing a positive impact and acceptance by the rakyat.

"I am being realistic because we need time to show people we are different, and as a voter myself I was traumatised by what took place under the Pakatan-led government for 22 months," she said on Wednesday (April 13).

Elaborating, Nurul Izzah said that among the problems she saw then were the coalition's policies and failure to fulfil its election manifesto promises after taking over the Federal Government in May 2018.

She also noted that Umno and Barisan Nasional should not be overconfident despite their recent landslide victories in the Johor and Melaka state elections.

Nurul Izzah, who is Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim's daughter, believed that the key was to woo the fence-sitters who did not turn up to vote during those state elections.

"When all economic sectors are open, surely voters will turn out in droves," she noted, unlike the recent situation.

The Johor polls in March saw a voter turnout of 54.92% while last November's Melaka election had a turnout of 65.85%.