SEREMBAN: Pakatan Harapan's attacks on the working understanding between Barisan Nasional and Perikatan Nasional in the Aug 1 Negri Sembilan are nothing more than a lame distraction to blind the public to its own dismal record in government, says Neow Choo Seong.
The Barisan Youth communications director said the understanding between Barisan and Perikatan in Negri Sembilan was a matter of political strategy.
"It is not a formal electoral coalition in the vein of former pacts such as Barisan Alternatif or Pakatan Rakyat, both of which PKR, PAS, and DAP participated in previously," he said adding that no party should have any fear from this arrangement.
Neow was responding to a statement by PKR Youth wing communications director Nurhanani Dhamirah Razaleh who said the decision by Barisan to contest the state election through an informal alliance with Perikatan under the banner of Malay unity was evidence that both coalitions were running out of substantive policy offerings to convince voters.
She said that after failing to challenge the state government's administrative record under Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Aminuddin Harun, Barisan and Perikatan had reverted to what she described as outdated, divisive political narratives.
Neow said that, on the contrary, Nurhanani ought to welcome the cooperation, as it aligns directly with the broader spirit of national unity.
"History bears out the facts that this nation was never reduced to a Taliban state when Barisan and Perikatan co-governed at the federal level, nor did extreme elements take hold following the establishment of Penyatuan Ummah on Sept 14, 2019," he said.
He described the scaremongering as an exhausted narrative, recycled by Pakatan purely to court sympathy votes.
He also said the AMK should stay out of who their Mentri Besar candidate was as it has already been made clear that the post will go to Barisan
"When Pakatan chose not to name its lead candidate ahead of the Johor state election, it framed the decision as strategic flexibility.
"Why, then, should Barisan be judged by a different standard in Negri Sembilan?" he asked, adding that this double standard exposes PH’s hypocrisy.
He said rather than being fixated on Barisan, Nurhanani and the Pakatan campaign machinery should address the tangible failures of their own administration.
These included the constitutional crisis which exposed the fragile nature of the current administration, infrastructure problems, the failure to stimulate the state economy which has forced the youth to migrate elsewhere.
The economic burden on the people of Negri Sembilan was also exacerbated by federal fuel policies and the Pakatan-led government’s decision to rationalise the subsidised RON95 petrol quota by capping it at 200 litres down from 300 litres.
Pakatan, he said, was given the mandate to govern but failed to deliver.
"Voters must recognise that supporting Pakatan means endorsing the expansion of e-invoicing, a broader Sales and Service Tax base, and further bureaucratic measures that will push up the cost of living for families and squeeze small businesses.
"Barisan offers concrete solutions, not empty rhetoric," he said adding that a vote for Barisan was a vote for 50,000 employment opportunities created specifically for the state.
