The Malaysian Insight

ON the surface, Perikatan Nasional might appear ready for snap polls, having picked a candidate for prime minister while its rival Pakatan Harapan Plus has been paralysed by infighting.

But this does not mean that PN as an alliance has a clear shot at victory, said its leaders and analysts, as the allies have major differences that can jeopardise its campaign.

Analysts said the matter of selecting a prime ministerial candidate was easily settled given that among the allies, no leader has a more positive image than current Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin.

According to surveys, the prime minister enjoys high ratings because of his success in managing the Covid-19 pandemic which has so far infected 8,648 people in Malaysia.

The real divisive issue that is yet to be resolved is seat allocation between Muhyiddin’s Bersatu, Umno and PAS, all of whom traditionally competed directly in Malay-majority constituencies.

Also up in the air is the common banner under which the parties will contest.

It is learnt that Umno and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) want to use the Barisan Nasional logo of blue and white “dacing” (scales) because it is highly recognisable among voters.

Before BN’s historic defeat in the 2018 general election (GE14), Umno, GPS and its allies MCA and MIC had won every general election they had contested in under the “dacing” since it was first used in 1974.

On the other hand, analysts said PAS is also tied to its white and green moon symbol under which the Islamist party has stood for election since it was founded in 1951.

Johor Umno deputy chief Nur Jazlan Mohamed said a formal PN coalition with its own flag and logo, similar to that of BN, would be a disadvantage in a snap election.

“If we fight as PN, we will be weakened by PN’s lack of credibility and visibility because it’s a new thing. It takes time to build a new brand,” said the former deputy home minister.

The former MP said a new PN logo would be less recognisable than the symbols of PH parties such as PKR and DAP.

“Malaysian voters are used to choosing their party based on the logo they see on the ballot paper. They don’t even look at the name of the  candidate.”

Trapped together

PN was cobbled together in late February when a group of MPs left the PH government to team up with Umno, PAS and GPS to form the new administration, which critics have called a “backdoor government” because it lacks an electoral mandate.

PN members Umno, PAS and Bersatu had contested against one another other in GE14.

On July 1, Umno and PAS, the two parties which had been at odds with Bersatu, announced they would support Muhyiddin as their prime ministerial candidate.

But not all of Umno appears to be on the same page. Umno adviser Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah told CNA in an interview that the party will not support Muhyiddin as prime minister.

Political scientist Prof Mazlan Ali said the differing positions in PN reflect the coalition’s unstable foundations.

“Umno needs to support PN because if it does not, it will be stuck in the opposition. It cannot afford this because it has leaders who are being prosecuted in court,” said Mazlan of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM).

Muhyiddin, on the other hand, wants to ensure that his party survives an election by contesting at least 50 parliamentary seats but Umno disagrees with this as it regards Bersatu as a splinter party.

“So Umno and Muhyiddin’s Bersatu are in a dilemma as they distrust each other. But Muhyiddin holds an advantage because he is the prime minister,” said Mazlan.

“If Umno leaves, Muhyiddin could make deals with his former allies PKR, DAP and Amanah, to support his government and if they return to power, they will bury Umno.”

Umno supreme council member Mohd Razlan Muhammad Rafii is confident that these differences, even on seat allocations, will be worked out in time for any snap polls.

“The seat negotiations can be worked out as long as Umno remains the dominant party in the coalition. If Bersatu wants 50 and PAS wants 30, there are still more than 140 seats that Umno can contest”.

Tengku Razaleigh feels differently, saying that working with Bersatu will be tricky.

“Bersatu shouldn’t come into the picture. They feel it should just be Muafakat Nasional, maybe just PAS and Umno getting together with the traditional partners of Barisan Nasional like MCA and MIC.

“And then you don’t have much of a problem with the allocation of seats.

“But if you bring in Bersatu, we may face an election that will put us in a hung situation again where nobody has a dominant position or a clear majority.

“And then we will have a very unstable situation,” said the 83-year-old. – July 4, 2020.