Syed Arabi Idid, who is with the International Islamic University Malaysia, said he only saw such interactions between Defence Minister Mohamad Sabu and Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng.

“PH leaders should meet more on a personal basis. Hang out more outside of politics,” he told FMT on the sidelines of a forum titled “GE14: An Analysis”.

The expert in political communications, who is also an adviser to a market research company, cited the recent controversy sparked after Lim issued an official statement in Mandarin which was heavily criticised, including by politicians in PH.

Syed Arabi said this differed from the time of the first prime minister, Tunku Abdul Rahman, who was seen as being very close with Tan Siew Sin and VT Sambanthan, the leaders of MCA and MIC respectively.

“When Tunku says something, everyone will agree. Now we see questions raised about the relationships in PH, such as when Lim was rebuked by those from within the coalition.”

Fortunately, Syed Arabi said, Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad could defuse such situations due to his father figure image.

On a separate note, Syed Arabi attributed Barisan Nasional’s loss in the recent polls to ineffective campaigning.

He said the machinery only went as far as the party workers who were expected to reach out to the electorate.

“But we are not sure if BN’s party workers were speaking to voters or even sending the right message.”

PH, on the other hand, approached voters directly and in doing so reached the masses, he said.

He said another factor was the shifting media landscape, with social media being a “game changer”.

Syed Arabi said when Najib Razak came to power, blogs were a popular medium but they had since been replaced by WhatsApp.

“When they (the opposition) organise a rally or hold a ceramah, it is spread on WhatsApp, fast and wide.”