If you had told this to any uncle at the mamak stall three years ago, he would have choked on his roti canai and laughed. BN? In Negeri Sembilan? The party we all gave a grand funeral in 2018? That BN?
And yet, here we are.
I am not a political analyst. I don't have a Datukship, I don't get invited to think-tank forums in KL hotels where they serve tiny sandwiches. I am just the common man, the guy who pays RM50 for groceries that used to cost RM20, who watches the news while waiting for his teh tarik to cool.
And from down here, on the ground floor where the rest of us live, the picture is very clear: Pakatan Harapan, especially PKR, is not falling. It is sinking. Slowly, gracefully, like a sampan with a hole that everyone can see except the captain.
And everyone at the kopitiam is asking the same quiet question, where did the minority votes go? Did they shift to BN? Or worse for PH, did they just stay home, fed up, making rice at home instead of going to vote?
If you ask me, don't look too far. Look at one man. PMX.
Our Prime Minister. The man we waited 25 years for. The reformasi icon. The prisoner turned Prime Minister. We really, really wanted him to succeed. But somewhere along the way, the script changed.
Last year, in 2025, in the middle of a sensitive temple issue, PMX decided the best phrase to use for a 130-year-old house of God was "kuil haram." Illegal temple. A temple built on Jalan Munshi Abdullah, the Dewi Sri Pathrakaliamman Temple. 130 years old. That temple was there before Merdeka. Before Malaysia. Hell, it was there before PMX was even born. It survived the British, the Japanese occupation, and development, but it couldn't survive a press conference.
After the whole country, especially the Indians, made noise, he apologized formally on July 29, 2026. One year later. Thank you, boss. Very fast response, like our LRT.
You think people forget? The common man doesn't read policy papers. He remembers respect. Or the lack of it. And when you call his grandmother's temple "haram" and then force-relocate it with a "forced relocation agreement" wow, what a beautiful phrase, forced agreement, he remembers. It wasn't the first time.
Remember August 5, 2023? An 18-year-old Indian girl, a student, brave enough to stand up in a town hall with the Prime Minister and ask about quota. What did PMX do? He cut her off. Again and again. "I know, I know your question." He mansplained to an 18-year-old.
And then came the legendary line: If we scrap the quota system, we will "lose all elections" and extremists will win.
Well, look at us now, PMX. You kept the quota, and you are still losing all elections. Ha ha. So what was the point? You scared your own base to please the other base, and now neither base wants to come for your ceramah.
The girl was 18. She can't even buy a beer legally, but she had the courage to ask what millions of us were thinking. And she was told to sit down.
From my small view, that's when the gap started.
And PMX is not alone. He has surrounded himself with the Avengers of Bad Advice.
Take one PH Minister. In June and July 2026, he decided the most pressing housing issue in Malaysia was Najib Razak. He vowed to resign if Najib gets early release.
Boss, we have leaking roofs in PPR flats, we have people who can't afford a house till their grandchildren get married, and your big promise to the nation is... you will resign if Najib comes out?
Face reality lah. There are still millions out there who want to kiss the hand of a convicted felon who stole billions. You think your resignation threat scares them? They are praying for you to resign. Why give them free publicity? Why not just talk less, fix the drains, build the houses, and let the courts do their job? Why must every small mouth have to make a big noise?
This is the problem. PH thinks we vote based on big speeches about reformasi and anti-corruption. The common man votes based on small fears.
Small issues that become big fears when you ignore them.
When a state government starts pushing for the conversion of minors who can't even spell their own IC name properly. When swine farms that have fed families for generations are threatened every other month. When we still don't have the complete answers for Pastor Raymond Koh, a man disappeared in broad daylight, like a magic trick, except it's been years and he hasn't reappeared. When M. Indira Gandhi still cries for her baby Prasana Diksa, taken at 11 months old in 2009 by her ex-husband, and now the baby is a teenager and we still have no solution.
Even the dog, Rocky, which was killed. You laugh? The common man doesn't laugh. He sees how you treat the weakest, an old temple, a young girl, a minority farmer, a dog and he judges your soul.
All these are "small issues" for Putrajaya. But for us, these are our lives. These are our temples, our children, our farms, our dogs.
So when Election Day comes, what do you expect the common man to do? Wear his best shirt and vote for you with a big smile?
No. He does two things. He either votes for the other guy, even if the other guy used to steal, because at least the other guy doesn't insult him while stealing. Or, and this is more dangerous, he just stays home. He abstains. He says, "Ayah, both also same, better I wash my car."
That abstention is what most probably killed PH in Johor and Negeri Sembilan.
And if they keep sleeping on the job looking very busy in Parliament, very clever on X (formerly Twitter), but very deaf on the ground then Malacca and Selangor might be next on the list. Don't be surprised.
We, the common men, gave PH a chance to be different. We didn't ask for heaven. We just asked not to be scolded, not to be called illegal in our own country.
Is that too much to ask?
ENDS
By Sam Trailerman
Nganasegaran (tapessam@gmail.com) is a content creator under the Newswav Creator programme, where you get to express yourself, be a citizen journalist, and at the same time monetize your content & reach millions of users on Newswav. Log in to creator.newswav.com and become a Newswav Creator now!
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