Barisan Nasional Still in Denial
Poor Barisan Nasional. No matter what, in the eyes of Malaysians, Barisan can do no right. Anywhere between one and five by-elections may be coming soon, and it is a virtual certainty that Barisan will lose each of them, quite possibly by immense margins.
Barisan is still busy patting itself on the back for toppling the popular Perak government; it hasn't done anything to address the fundamental reasons why the voters consistently reject its leadership. Eventually, Barisan will have to face the public, and when it does, it will not have even the slightest fig leaf to cover its blatant failures.
Last March, was shell-shocked beyond belief when the polling results came in. Barisan leaders could not understand or comprehend the unprecedented and massive rejection they encountered at the hands of Malaysians. In the wake of March 8, Barisan conducted much "soul-searching" in an effort to figure out exactly what happened. Surely, they would come around eventually, get their act together, and try to win back the hearts of the people.
But a year later, Barisan is still as shocked and in denial as ever before. Just looking at their actions in the recent Perak crisis, it is crystal clear that they still think they are facing the same political situation as they did several years ago. Barisan leaders were clearly not expecting the massive backlash from Perakians and Malaysians; the Prime Minister-to be and other top Barisan leaders have been pulling out from various scheduled functions because of "security concerns"—the moment they show their face in public, they will be tormented like no Malaysian leader has ever been before. They have clearly misjudged public sentiment: Barisan really seems to believe that all it needs to do is to claw its power back from Pakatan Rakyat, by hook or by crook, and then all will be well again.
