The Umno voters dilemma

SHAH ALAM - Numerous Umno's top leaders have began calling on the party supporters to vote for DAP candidates in their respective constituencies in the State Elections (PRN) that will be held soon.

However, it is a question of to which extent traditional Umno voters will be able to support DAP candidates who have been at loggerheads with Umno for so long

This is due to DAP's anti-Malay and anti-Islamic sentiments that have been planted in the minds of the public especially the Malays for a long time causing some to still feel doubtful and have phobias about voting for the party.

Such matters have certainly put Umno voters in a dilemma of whether or not to vote for DAP candidates in the upcoming state elections.

Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) political analyst Professor Dr Sivamurugan Pandian said Umno voters are expected to find it difficult to vote for DAP candidates based on the hostility between Umno and DAP that has been going on for a long time before the two parties became allies under the Unity Government..

According to him, only around five or six out of 10 Umno voters in one area are expected to vote for a DAP candidate in the state elections

Nevertheless, the call from Umno leaders who have started asking Umno voters to vote for DAP in the next state elections in the name of the Unity Government could lead to a shift in support of Umno voters towards DAP.

On Friday, Umno Supreme Council member Datuk Seri Ahmad Maslan reportedly said that Umno voters should choose a candidate from the Unity Government in the state elections regardless of which party the candidate is from, including DAP.

According to Ahmad, the call is not in the name of a particular party, but rather in the name of the Unity Government and the order of the Yang di-Pertuan Agong in safeguarding the country's political stability.

In addition, Kelantan Umno head of information Datuk Zawawi Othman stated that since Umno formed a partnership with PH through the Unity Government, DAP is seen to be no longer as extreme as when they were allies with Pas and Bersatu.

Kedah Umno chairman Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid said that there is no issue for Umno members to vote for PH party candidates including DAP in the next six-state PRN since BN and PH are components in the Unity Government.

DAP also shared the same view when its national publicity secretary Teo Nie Ching also called on DAP members and supporters to support and vote for Umno candidates who are fellow component party members in the Unity Government in the state elections

The efforts and calls made by Umno's top leaders to invite Umno voters to vote for DAP in the state elections is an important key to ensuring the country's political stability in addition to strengthening the existing government.

It is also a determinant of the extent to which cooperation between PH-BN can restore the support of the people especially Malay voters towards the coalition.

Although it is something 'bitter' to accept for some Umno voters, the cooperation between BN-PH needs to be strengthened to create a stable government in line with the advice of Yang di-Pertuan Agong.