PH must strengthen core base before election talks, says PKR MP

2026-03-15 - 01:24

Tebrau MP Jimmy Puah says Pakatan Harapan must work to convince its support base that the coalition remains keen on reforms. PETALING JAYA: A PKR MP has urged Pakatan Harapan to shore up support from among its core voter base to strengthen its hand in negotiations over cooperation in the next general election (GE16). Tebrau MP Jimmy Puah said PH should make securing the urban electorate and M40 voters its top priority, warning that without a strong voter core the coalition would struggle to win over fence-sitters and those outside its traditional support base. “We need to make ourselves stronger. We have to convince our core voters that we have actually delivered (on reforms), or at least are in the midst of delivering. “Some of our core voters, particularly the M40 group and urban electorate, have been swinging. Regardless of race, we need to convince them that we are reformists,” Puah told FMT. He said PH must ensure it has sufficient bargaining power before engaging with other coalitions and parties on cooperation. “(Only) then would we be in a position to decide who our coalition partner should be if we were to form the government. The important thing is to go back to the fundamentals — you have to be strong yourself before others will want to talk to you.” The Johor PKR vice-chief emphasised that party messages should be delivered using clear and simple language, or translated in a way that the rakyat can relate to. He said jargon and statistics tend to confuse people as some might not understand how a specific issue affects them. “When I spoke to people during Chinese New Year, I told them the ringgit had strengthened, but many did not understand what that meant to them. “I then explained that mandarin oranges are cheaper than last year due to the ringgit’s improvement,” Puah added. Issues alienating minorities and liberals Political scientist Wong Chin Huat of Sunway University said PH should first consolidate support among its core urban and middle-class voters before attempting to expand its voter base ahead of the next general election. He said this was because a sizeable number of PH constituencies were won with less than 50% of the vote. Without strong voter turnout the coalition’s seat count could drop significantly, he said, possibly even by half. Wong said PH cannot expect to secure its traditional base, which includes minorities and liberals, by relying solely on the nation’s economic performance. He said PH’s core supporters have been closely watching how Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has managed Malaysia’s delicate racial and religious balance, warning that critical “trust” issues, including ethnoreligious tensions, could alienate the coalition’s support. “Where Madani’s principle of religious inclusion is being put to the test, Anwar has to take the bull by the horns by defending pluralism within Islam, not flip-flopping between appeasing Muslim nationalists and wooing minorities and liberals,” Wong told FMT.