COMMENT | Five issues to consider for GE15

COMMENT | One way of determining which way to vote in a systematic manner is to list down important issues dear to your heart and then look at which coalition is most likely to help you advance that issue and vote for the party in that coalition. List your issues in order of preference and weigh them if you want.

The three coalitions likely to succeed are Umno Baru/BN, PN (Bersatu and PAS), and Pakatan Harapan. Their respective leaders are Umno’s Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Bersatu’s Muhyiddin Yassin, and PKR’s Anwar Ibrahim.

These are the people who are likely to become prime ministers if their coalition becomes the dominant one or at least the ones who will call the shots behind the scenes. So it is irrelevant if Ismail Sabri Yaakob becomes PM if Umno/BN dominate because the one who will call the shots is Zahid.

Remember, however, that Peninsular Malaysia results alone won’t determine the final outcome. To illustrate, assume Harapan wins the most seats in the peninsula and overall. But unless they have a clear majority, whether they form the government or not will depend on alliances they may make in Sabah and Sarawak, and the peninsula.

But that does not negate the fact that if all individuals make an informed choice, the most likely outcome will be one that benefits all of us most, despite the existing weaknesses and deficiencies in our political parties and systems.

Here’s my list of five, those that are close to me. You may agree with some, you may not with others. If you don’t, simply add your own favourite ones and do your own...