PETALING JAYA: The decision of both MCA and MIC to opt out of contesting in the upcoming elections in six states is a smart move, said political analysts.
Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid of Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) said the decision of the two Barisan Nasional (BN) components might not be beneficial in the short-term, but it would be worse if they fielded candidates and lost.
“This is because the speculation would be that they have been unsuccessful in attracting voters who would otherwise have voted for Pakatan Harapan (PH).
“So, MCA and MIC’s decision is based on preventing the greater evil in the likelihood their candidates lose. This is something the unity government cannot afford to risk at the moment,” he told FMT.
Universiti Utara Malaysia’s Azizuddin Sani also said it was the “wise thing for MCA and MIC to do”, with the two parties hard-pressed to get seats since most non-Malay seats up for grabs were won by DAP or PKR previously.
“They should focus on regaining the trust of their respective communities and strengthening their parties,” he said.
On Wednesday, the two BN parties announced that they would be sitting out the upcoming polls in the six states and would instead focus on preparing for the 16th general election.
MCA and MIC decided on this course of action despite BN chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi saying last week that the two parties would be given seats to contest in all six states where elections were to be held.
Meanwhile, Azmil Tayeb, also of USM, said MCA and MIC did not have any “political function” in the current environment, with more than 90% of Chinese and Indians supporting PH in the last general election.
Meanwhile, BN garnered less than 15% of Malay votes, he added.
“The PH-BN coalition doesn’t need MCA and MIC’s help to get the non-Malay votes. It desperately needs the Malay votes.” - FMT
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