Azmi Hassan of Akademi Nusantara said Anwar’s government should pay close attention to this grouping, as it could sow discord among the people and threaten national unity.
He said the grouping could have a polarising effect between the Malays and non-Malays, with the non-Malays growing more wary of PN.
“It will widen voter segmentation, particularly between Malays and non-Malays,” he told FMT.
Mahathir told a press conference on Thursday that he and PN leaders had agreed to come together to oppose a “common enemy” of the Malays to “ensure the Malays do not lose power”.
He claimed that the Malays have been gradually deprived of their rights under Anwar’s government, prompting them to unite to champion the community.
He was joined by the likes of PN chairman Muhyiddin Yassin, PAS vice-president Idris Ahmad, former Umno secretary-general Annuar Musa and former Pejuang deputy president Marzuki Yahya, at a roundtable meeting of the leaders that day.
When asked about the group’s possible motivations, Azmi said it was likely an attempt to gain political mileage and that it reflected Mahathir and PN leaders’ “desperation” to remain relevant.
Syaza Shukri of the International Islamic University Malaysia, however, said that Anwar’s government has nothing to be worried about.
“Mahathir has tried to work together with PAS last year, so this is just the same strategy of him attaching himself to other Malay leaders. But I don’t think it will make much difference because his influence is declining,” she said.
She pointed out that last year, Mahathir had hoped to capitalise on the green wave, but it has subsided.
“So now they are resorting to portraying the unity government as evil, in a classic populist move,” she said. “However, it will be difficult because the Umno-Pakatan Harapan relationship is relatively more stable now.”
Asked if the Mahathir-PN tie-up would throw a spanner in Anwar’s efforts to woo the Malays, Syaza said that the community has always been a difficult segment for the PKR president to win over.
“So, it’s status quo. The people who believe in Mahathir and Muhyiddin’s rhetoric are people who will never vote for Anwar anyway.”
She added that Anwar needs to pivot and focus on the middle ground with people who already take what Mahathir and Muhyiddin say with a grain of salt.
“These comprise two groups of people; the non-conservative Malays, and those who are still on the fence. These are people that Anwar might still have a chance to convince to support his government.” - FMT
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