“DO people really hate me that much?” two people heard Najib Razak say as the carnage of Barisan Nasional’s (BN) devastating losses became clearly apparent as the May 9 night wore on.

His advisers were huddled near him at his Langgak Duta residence, faces getting paler and grim as the results trickled in. Federal seats were falling like ten-pins in Sarawak, while the state legislatures in Johor, Malacca and Negri Sembilan seemed to go Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) way.