Barisan Nasional’s New Election Strategy

John Teo | johnteo808@gmail.com

http://www.nst.com.my

REMAINING RELEVANT: BN is trying out a new political approach by letting UMNO, rather than MCA, take on DAP

THE Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) is staring at the gravest possible outcome of any parliamentary election it has participated in since Malaysia Day with the coming general election.

The most optimistic prognosis sees it winning just two of the seven seats it will contest; in Serian, a Bidayuh-majority seat held by Deputy Foreign Minister Datuk Richard Riot (left) and, just possibly, in Sibu, where the ethnic breakdown of voters makes it somewhat easier to overcome the formidable anti-Barisan Nasional (BN) sentiments of Chinese voters.

SUPP will thus be the main drag on what otherwise looks like another comfortable ride for Sarawak into polling day on May 5, recent events, such as a major scandalous expose linking Chief Minister Tan Sri Taib Mahmud, notwithstanding.

That was the background for the appeal by SUPP president Datuk Seri Peter Chin to Sarawak Chinese voters to consider carefully the ramifications of their vote this time around.

There is the real prospect that for the first time since BN was formed in 1974, there will be no Sarawak Chinese minister in the Federal cabinet as Chin pointed out that all indications point to BN returning to power.

In fact, the new Parliament that will be elected on May 5 may come to resemble a bit like the current Sarawak state assembly (the only one not dissolved since the last state election was only held in 2011) where out of 71 seats, the state BN government only boasts of two Chinese assemblymen while the DAP has twelve (all Chinese) and forming the bulk of the 15-member opposition bench.

SUPP is thus fighting a rear-guard battle for the Chinese to remain relevant within the state government.

Meanwhile, the DAP-led state opposition is having a hard time making some of its legitimate concerns even raised in assembly meetings, let alone having its views treated as valuable input into the crafting of state laws.

Such polarisation between a government with minimal Chinese representation and an opposition bulked up with overwhelming Chinese representation cannot be healthy for a twenty-first century Malaysia. This must explain why Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is seemingly leaving no stone unturned to get every single Chinese vote he can for BN.

 But the reality of Chinese voters largely falling out of love with BN is hard to miss or undo. That reality hitting home may be the reason why BN is trying out a new political strategy by letting UMNO rather than MCA take on DAP, particularly in the BN fortress state of Johor.

In fact, a very concerned and ageing Chinese statesman recently revealed to this writer that he had proposed to the highest levels in UMNO for the party to create a special “caucus” of UMNO members dedicated to articulating concerns dear to the hearts of Chinese Malaysians. He suggested members of such a caucus be fielded in seats traditionally contested by parties such as MCA or Gerakan.

That appears to be exactly the tack UMNO is now taking to heart. If proven successful, such a strategy will take the wind out of DAP’s sails. More importantly, it will do much to ameliorate the barely disguised racial baiting that is the bane of politics in Malaysia up to this stage.

The ideal of political multiracialism within a single party has never quite worked out in practice in the country. Nominally multiracial parties such as Gerakan, SUPP and DAP all end up dominated by a single ethnic group, the Chinese.

That actually says as much about the continuing political appeal of UMNO among Malays and other Bumiputras in the country. Opening UMNO up to be an effective voice of non-Bumiputra minorities, in particula, the Chinese, without diluting its continuing appeal to its Malay base may be the most logical next step in its evolution to keep up with ever changing political dynamics in the country.

Too often, free and democratic political contests draw out the worst primordial instincts in all of us. We only need to look at other multi-ethnic or multi-religious countries around the globe — the likes of Myanmar, Iraq, Lebanon and the former Yugoslavia — to wonder what it is that keeps our nation together and prospering all these years.

The answer is UMNO providing the essential glue for the nation — reflecting the political and economic aspirations of majority Malays while protecting the space for minorities under the Malaysian sun. As the nation changes, so, too, should UMNO, as indeed it must — for its own sake and the nation’s.