KUALA LUMPUR, April 15 — Barisan Nasional parties must continue restructuring the coalition to secure the confidence of voters and maintain pressure on the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government, said Senator Khairul Azwan Harun.

The Dewan Negara member for Umno added public dissatisfaction was clearly seen in the Rantau by-election, which he said showed PH has no clear direction.

"From start to finish, BN led an organised campaign. Surveys on the ground had already indicated that living costs and unemployment are among voters’ biggest concerns,” he said in a statement.

Khairul said despite initial hope during the 14th general election on May 9 last year, living costs have yet to improve, petrol prices remain unchanged, tolls remain unabolished, and the rakyat’s frustration with a government plagued by in-fighting was evident.

"Everyone in BN stayed on message. We knew (prime minister) Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was still a popular leader amongst Rantau voters.

"We knew the keywords that needed to be said and avoided. If anything, Kulasegaran’s unhinged speech the day before voting is symbolic of PH on the whole. Disorganised with no common direction,” he said.

Khairul was referring to DAP’s national vice-chairman M. Kulasegaran, who recently courted controversy after being accused of using racial sentiments during a campaign ceramah. He has since said he is contemplating legal action against Umno Youth chief Datuk Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki for purportedly inculcating hatred among Rantau’s Indian community against the Malays.

"BN won comfortably in districts that were non-Malay. While MCA and MIC played a huge role in this, we’re increasingly seeing an electorate that no longer believes in black-and-white politics. That no side is without its faults, that stability is more concrete than ‘harapan’,” Khairul said.

Umno candidate and acting party president Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan won the by-election on Saturday with a 4,510-vote majority, marking the third electoral victory for BN after Cameron Highlands and Semenyih earlier this year.