Mazlan Ali of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) said Hamzah should back his claims “academically”.
“Only then, there will be some merit to his claims,” Mazlan told FMT.
Mazlan said while there was nothing wrong with making such claims, without any data to back it up, it would fail to convince the public.
He added that as far as Hamzah’s claims were concerned, voters, especially those who wanted a change in government, would have to wait until the next general election, which must be called in four years’ time.
“If we are talking about a democratically elected government, change can only be made through the polls.”
On Friday, Hamzah claimed that the majority of Malaysians want PN to take over the administration of the federal government, citing comments on social media.
The Bersatu secretary-general added that the current government was in a state of disarray and experiencing internal conflicts, noting the controversy sparked by the Palestine Solidarity Week in schools.
However, Mazlan said such claims were baseless, adding that the example Hamzah cited is a non-issue.
One must take into account that the unity government comprised parties that were once fierce rivals, Mazlan said.
“So there will be various perspectives. Dissenting views are normal.”
Meanwhile, Azmi Hassan of Akademi Nusantara said if the majority of the people really wanted PN to take over the government, it would have been reflected in the six state elections and the by-elections in Johor and Pahang, over the past three months.
While the Pakatan Harapan (PH) and Barisan Nasional (BN) alliance retained Penang, Selangor, and Negeri Sembilan in August, the opposition did make some inroads in these three states.
PH also retained the Pulai parliamentary seat and Simpang Jeram state seat in Johor, on Sept 9. Likewise, BN retained the Pelangai state seat in Pahang on Oct 7.
“There should have been some sort of indication in the state polls and by- elections, but that didn’t happen.
“It is very lame of Hamzah to make such claims based on social media comments.”
Azmi also dismissed Hamzah’s criticisms of the Palestine Solidarity Week in schools, saying that the minister could not be blamed.
“The schools and teachers should take responsibility for that, not the minister,” he said.