Malaysia to see dominance of two strong political blocs
Ironically these political blocs have never agreed on anything previously, and have been enemies for more than two decades.
Malaysia's oldest political coalition Barisan Nasional (BN) which ruled Malaysia for 61 years, since indepence is consisted of Umno, MCA and MIC whereas Pakatan Harapan (PH) which emerged during 14th General Election (GE14), is now made up by PKR, DAP and Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah).
Universiti Putra Malaysia (UPM)'s Human Ecology Faculty senior lecturer Associate Professor Dr Mohd Izani Mohd Zain said although initially, it looked as if the cooperation was for the purpose of forming a government, however, latest developments in the country showed that these strong coalitions will remain as strong alies for a long time.
This was proved when PH and BN had agreed not to contest against each other in the Padang Serai and Tioman elections
"Other than the fact they both are component parties in the unity government, but the current political reality now is that these two blocs need each other in order to sustain and govern the nation for a long time.
"For example, PH needs the support from the Malays in Umno, whereas Umno which boasted to have the support of the Malay community, now needs to PH.
"On the contrary, if Umno were to join hands with Pas and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) in Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition, Umno would no longer be a large party representing the Malays," he said when contacted on Thursday.
Mohd Izani said this political scenario would also witness competition to be dominant, among PH-BN and PN in the years to come.
When asked if the PH-BN would be able to sustain their cooperation, he said, there are two factors will determine the continuity of the cooperation.
"I see the survival of the unity government and their political cooperation depend on the elite leadership of the PH chairman Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and BN chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
"If these political elites changes or ceases to be important, I forsee a huge problem in sustaining further," he said.
The second factor is being able to compromise with one another in the unity government.
"For instance, DAP and Umno must be able to downplay and adopt more moderate apporoach in voicing out their viewpoints and opinion. This includes Malay sensitive issues such as the Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) approval, allocation of national schools and economic issues.
"I think parties like PKR and DAP had learned a lot from their experiences when they were in the previous PH government.
"We hope their actions will not cause much controversy and would be more focused on working together as one government and respecting Malay- Muslim sensitivity," he added.
Izani said PH should also be more open and flexible so that BN and Umno could adopt a new narrative in fighting for the interests of the Malay community.
"As for PN, I see that they have a good future with the condition that they needed to be smart in utilising the support of the Malay majority that the received in the recent GE15.
"This meant that if they were the opposition, they must become a constructive opposition, not only throwing religious and racial sentiments," he added.
He explained that even though PN did not succeed in forming the government, the coalition is seen to have a large influence on the people as they have won big in several states like Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah and Perlis.
Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM) Politics and International Relation Senior Lecturer Professor Dr Mohd Azizuddin Mohd Sani said the state elections in six states; Kedah, Penang, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Terengganu and Kelantan next year would be an important indicator to ascertain the support received for both the coalition blocs.
"However, it is certain for now that PH -BN coalition in the unity government would in this bloc together, to compete against PN," he said.
Azizuddin said despite the strength shown by PN by winning most of the seats constested, in the north and east coast in GE15, PH-BN still have a chance recontest in those states especially swing states like Kedah and Terengganu.
