PN can’t move beyond communal politics, analyst says
Published on: Tuesday, March 12, 2024
By:
FMT, Rex Tan
Perikatan Nasional secretary-general Hamzah Zainudin (left) recently said the coalition should not rely solely on “waves” of voter support to win elections.
PETALING JAYA: A political analyst has poured cold water on Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) ambitions to be less dependent on communal politics and Malay voters, saying the coalition was currently shackled to such fundamentals.
James Chin of University of Tasmania said PN would not be able to attract voters beyond its current base as they have been pigeonholed as being a pro-Malay and Muslim coalition.
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He said PN could only move further right in its political stance “because it seems to work very well”.
With PAS occupying 43 out of the coalition’s total 68 seats in the Dewan Rakyat, the Islamic party would be able to stifle any attempts within PN to compromise on championing Malay and Muslim rights, Chin told FMT.
On Saturday, PN secretary-general Hamzah Zainudin said if PN wished to retake Putrajaya at the next general election, the coalition must build its “own strength and identity” instead of relying on electoral waves of voter support as with the “green wave” of 2022.
The term “green wave” was coined by politicians to describe the political rise of PN in state assembly and parliamentary elections in 2022, with major gains in seats formerly held by Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan.
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Hamzah also said that PN needed to study strategies they could use to earn and maintain people’s trust, adding that advocating issues related to costs of living is their main focus.
However, Chin said it is unlikely that PN would change its strategy, and would continue to focus on racial and religious issues as such an approach had been shown to be an effective strategy.
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“Yes, they have been very successful in raising issues related to the cost of living, but the number one issue they are going to harp on at the next general election is that Malays and Islam were marginalised under Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.
“These strategies were successfully used in the by-elections and 2022 state elections and I don’t doubt they will try to use that again,” Chin said.
Awang Azman Pawi of Universiti Malaya said PN could consider broadening its appeal to non-Malay voters through promoting multiculturalism by addressing issues faced by different communities while at the same time continuing to advocate for Bumiputera rights.
PAS was likely to find such a change in direction challenging, but the party should “be realistic and accept the reality that Malaysia is a multicultural country”, he said.
Oh Ei Sun of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs also said it would be difficult for the opposition to promote multiculturalism in the hope of attracting Pakatan Harapan’s supporters. “That would run counter to PAS’ agenda.”
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