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James Chin, a professor at the University of Tasmania’s Asian Studies department, said the lack of real reforms contributed to low voter turnout among Chinese voters in Pakkara.
(Hope Daily) – “Not only the Chinese, but also the non-Malays are generally disappointed with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s failure to bring about any real reforms,” he told The Straits Times.
He also pointed out that the Chinese community was particularly unhappy with the government’s cancellation of subsidies.
“Another big problem for the Chinese is that people are very angry about the government removing subsidies.
“In fact, many Chinese companies have been quite seriously affected,” he said, citing the transportation and logistics industry as an example.
Chen also highlighted the economic factors that affect the by-election.
“People just think the economy is not doing well, and if the economy is not doing well, the most affected will be the non-Malays because Malays can get government subsidies while the Chinese and Indians cannot,” he said.
“So all this has made the Chinese very unhappy, and since they have no choice but to support Pakatan Harapan, the best way to express their discontent is to stay at home,” he added.
He also mentioned that people do not take state by-elections seriously.
“I think the other issue is that by-elections are a bit strange because people know they are not changing the government. So people take a more relaxed attitude towards by-elections,” he said.
PN emerged victorious in yesterday’s Bakab by-election, with its candidate Abidin Ismail defeating Pakatan Harapan candidate Joohari Ariffin by a huge margin of 4,267 votes.
The by-election was triggered by the death of PAS state assemblyman Nor Zamri Latiff, who was also PAS Bukit Mertajam chief.
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