But they feel the ruling coalition should have strategies to win the hearts of the Malays, the segment of voters whom observers believe dealt a blow to the ruling coalition in Cameron Highlands and Semenyih.

“There are many reasons for PH’s defeats and wins. It must re-evaluate its performance. My hope is for PH to manage the country better,” said Hulu Terengganu MP Rosol Wahid, who has since joined PPBM.

On Saturday, Barisan Nasional’s (BN) Zakaria Hanafi won the Semenyih state seat with a 1,914-vote majority, getting 19,780 votes against PH’s Muhammad Aiman Zainali who got 17,866 votes.

It was the former ruling coalition’s second victory in a by-election since losing power last year.

An ex-Umno MP who declined to be named told FMT that PH should “get their act together” to fight Umno.

He said Umno’s playing up of race and religion was effective, and that PH should strategise accordingly.

“They are working with PAS to get ground support, and it is working,” he said.

But he said he had no regrets about leaving Umno despite what has been seen as the Malay party’s rebound in recent weeks.

“I have no intention of going back, but PH seriously needs to up the ante,” he said.

“I hope to see some firm strategies put in place to win the support of the Malays.”

He added that some ministers were still in the opposition mindset despite 10 months in government.

Another MP from Sabah warned that Malay sentiments in the peninsula could get stronger if PH did not act quickly.

He said this was not the case in Sabah.

“We are Sabahans first. Not Malay or Chinese first. For us, it is about backing the government so that we get allocations to develop our state.”