Barisan Nasional rivals have been calling for Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng to resign, while civil societies have demanded greater government accountability.
This comes at a time when the 14th general election (GE14) is just around the corner.
While the tragedy in Tanjung Bungah itself will not lead to the downfall of the state government, analysts say the administration’s arrogance in dealing with critics may.
“The landslide itself is not a good thing for the government, as NGOs can now point to a lack of a local development plan although the state is moving into the 10th year of DAP’s governance,” independent analyst Khoo Kay Peng told FMT.
“But I don’t think this will affect their chances in the next election because you see, people are funny.
“If it (a tragedy) doesn’t affect our family or our direct relatives, we don’t have the sense to step up or hold the government accountable,” he said.
Khoo added that Malaysians often vote based on emotional sentiments and political affiliations.
“Hence, the Tanjung Bungah incident will remain an area-centric issue.”
However, Khoo believes that the reaction from Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy to the backlash that came following the incident may not be forgotten as easily.
Calling Ramasamy’s statement, in which he had challenged an NGO to form a political party and contest against the state’s Pakatan Harapan (PH), as “political arrogance”, Khoo said such an attitude will hurt the opposition’s position in Penang.
“Do we have to join a political party to be able to criticise the government? No. Being criticised is part and parcel of a democratic system which you have to accept.
“At the end of the day, during the elections, they will know who the real bosses are.”
Ramasamy has had a heated exchange with NGOs, including Penang Forum, that has criticised the state government’s handling of hillslope projects.
Penang Forum committee member Lim Mah Hui had reportedly told state elected representatives who refused to engage in a dialogue on the landslide tragedy to “get out”.
In response to this, Ramasamy had asked the NGO to form a political party or work with BN to oust the current government.
Political analyst Awang Azman Awang Pawi said the DAP government should have behaved rationally towards constructive criticism.
Linking critics to their political opponent is not the right move and in fact, would be perceived as arrogance, the associate professor at Universiti Malaya said.
He however, believes that the arrogance will not push the opposition’s hardcore supporters away.
“But it could attract some of the undecided voters to Barisan Nasional.”
Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs’ (IDEAS) chief executive Wan Saiful Wan Jan on the other hand, said he was “appalled” that the tragedy has been politicised.
“How low can we go? I know as we get closer to GE14, politicians will try to score political points.
“But, please, don’t go that cheap by politicising peoples’ lives. There have been deaths in this incident.
“Everyone, be it BN or PH, needs to grow up and work together like the adults they claim to be to make sure incidents like this never happen again,” he told FMT.
On Wednesday, Lim had announced the setting-up of a state Commission of Inquiry (SCI) on the landslide that occurred at an affordable housing project site in Tanjung Bungah.
The SCI, he had said, will determine what caused the temporary worksite slope to collapse and decide if it was a worksite accident, among others.