PN Congress to discuss solving internal issues, GE15 and Deputy Prime Minister post. - Analysts

SHAH ALAM - Perikatan Nasional (PN) should talk about resolving its internal issues during the PN Congress, experts say.

Political analyst Oh Ei Sun said it was crucial for the matter to be resolved before the election adding that its cooperation with Pas should also be discussed during the congress.

"Does Pas really want to stay in PN or do they want to go back to Muafakat Nasional?

"Hopefully we can see some inkling on whether Pas will stay put in PN or not,” he told Sinar Daily.

This, he said was important for the party because as seen from the Melaka and Johor state elections, Pas has great grassroots strength and Bersatu might have problems attracting a lot of votes, especially from the rural areas without them.

Oh said it was expected that the congress will discuss about the 15th General Election (GE15) in terms of its strategy and manifesto since it was possible that the election would be held this year or sometime next year.

Merdeka Centre programme director Ibrahim Suffian was also of the view that the PN congress will focus on the cooperation leading to GE15 in order to present themselves as an alternative to Barisan Nasional (BN).

He said they would probably draw up a proposal for their leader to be Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin for his record of organising the response on Covid-19 when he served as prime minister.

Besides that, he said it was also necessary for it to discuss on gaining more votes.

"They ought to discuss how they can present themselves to the broader Malaysian public and not just to the Malay voters,” he said.

Meanwhile, Nusantara Academy for Strategic Research (NASR) senior fellow Azmi Hassan said another thing to expect from the congress was the unveiling of the new PN logo, along with its meaning.

"There has to be a justification for the new logo because the leadership of the party needs to convince their members that all is well,” he explained.

He said the congress was the best time for the party to elevate the confidence of its members for the upcoming general election following their lack of performance during the Melaka and Johor state elections due to the logo.

He said the issue of the Deputy Prime Minister and their cooperation with Pas would also be mentioned during the congress.

"I am sure that the issue of the Deputy PM post will be brought up during the congress since this is related to its relationship with Umno when GE15 is of concern.

"GE15 will also be the main focus of the congress since they need to determine the direction of the party whether it will go solo or work with the others since GE15 is a critical benchmark for PN," he said.