'Harapan needs to push Malay agenda to win GE14'

Pakatan Harapan needs to highlight the Malay narrative alongside its brand of “new politics” to fill the moderate, “centre-right” political vacuum left by BN.

This was proposed by Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) associate professor Faisal S Hazis at a forum discussing the pros and cons of multi-cornered contests in Kuala Lumpur today.

Hazis (left in photo) observed that BN had “regressed” from its previous platform as a moderate party in the past few years.

“The opposition could fill this vacuum by marrying its centrist narratives with the Malay narrative,” he said at the event, which was organised by the Merdeka Center for Opinion Research.

Faisal argued that the formula, while seemingly “paradoxical” for a coalition that has won on a more inclusive brand of politics in previous elections, was a tried and tested one.

“Perhaps it was previously untrendy to push the Malay narrative, even paradoxical, when they were riding on a wave of multi-ethnic politics that talked about issues like good governance.

“But BN in the past had adopted a moderate narrative coupled with a Malay narrative, and they were able to capture the imagination of non-Malay voters. This concept is not new,” he said.

Rooting his analysis in the concept of path dependency, in which historical patterns are analysed to predict future trends, Faisal said the opposition needed to do more than campaign on its brand of “new politics” if it wanted to win votes in the 14th general election.

“There are limits to the centrist argument.

“Ethno-religious politics is still deeply rooted in Malaysian politics, existing political patterns still stand,” he maintained.

Fellow panellist Nanyang Technological University adjunct professor Johan Saravanamuttu commented that the Malay narrative was perhaps already present in the opposition.

This was by virtue of Bumiputera-only component party Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu), one of whose key principles is to defend Malay special rights.

“But we need to see their common manifesto (to be sure),” he said.

Harapan is in the midst of drafting their manifesto.

Panellists at another forum yesterday also commented that Harapan risked losing support by failing to address race in a more specific manner.

In comparison, they claimed that Umno had a more aggressive approach towards defending the Malay agenda, leading Malay voters to have more confidence in Umno to represent them.

“The opposition cannot avoid matters of race, that is the void that is causing them to lose Malay votes,” panellist Fathi Aris Omar had said.- Mkini