Bersatu voters could back PH out of spite for PAS, says analyst

 Bersatu has not ordered supporters to vote for any particular party in seats not contested by PN, while PAS appears to be backing BN even in two seats Bersatu is contesting.

Multiple factors are at play in the upcoming Johor state election, including a stand-off which sees PAS and Bersatu operating independently of each other while still under the Perikatan Nasional banner.

PETALING JAYA:

Bersatu supporters in Johor may turn their backs on PAS and vote for Pakatan Harapan in the July 11 state election, in protest over the treatment accorded by PAS to their party, according to a political analyst.

Akademi Nusantara’s Azmi Hassan said multiple factors are at play in the upcoming polls, especially with Perikatan Nasional contesting only 33 of the 56 state seats in Johor.

Within PN, he notes that Bersatu and PAS appear set to remain coalition partners despite PAS announcing the end of their political cooperation last month.

Then there is also the call by PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man for the party’s members and supporters to back BN in seats not contested by PN, he added.

“I think, given the animosity between Bersatu and Umno, Bersatu supporters would be more inclined towards supporting PH rather than BN,” he told FMT.

Bersatu was formed in 2016 by former Umno heavyweights Dr Mahathir Mohamad, Muhyiddin Yassin together with several others.

The party went on to play a key role in ousting the Barisan Nasional government in the May 2018 general election before abandoning PH and causing the fall of it government.

“Bersatu supporters may also want to vote for PH just to go against Tuan Ibrahim — because PAS and Bersatu have a score to settle,” Azmi said.

Bersatu is contesting 16 of Perikatan Nasional’s 33 seats in Johor, while PAS is fielding 11 candidates. Yet despite remaining coalition allies, the two parties are not assisting each other in their respective election campaigns.

For its part, PAS has directed its supporters to back Barisan Nasional in the remaining 23 seats which it is not contesting.

In contrast, Bersatu has left it to its supporters to decide which party to vote for, with members and supporters not prevented from casting their votes in favour of parties outside PN.

Meanwhile, in a show of support, divisional PAS leaders attended a Batu Pahat BN event on Monday, a move which left Johor BN chief Onn Hafiz Ghazi “surprised and touched”.

PAS is not contesting there, although Bersatu will represent PN in Senggarang and Rengit. The Penggaram seat will see a straight fight between MCA and DAP.

PAS has not explicitly ordered members to back Bersatu candidates, but PAS Youth chief Afnan Hamimi Taib Azamudden said he expected the party’s members to do so to avoid PH victories.

DAP stigma will keep Bersatu voters from backing PH

Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid of Universiti Sains Malaysia believes that the chances of Bersatu supporters backing PH are very slim, partly due to the “stigma” attached to DAP.

Fauzi said Bersatu voters that backed PH in 2018, when the party was a member of the coalition, are unlikely to do so again.

“They most probably did so then due to the belief that Mahathir, and to a lesser extent Muhyiddin, could neutralise DAP’s clout in PH. In time, it was proven that they couldn’t.

“It’s this perception among Malay voters that PH is dominated by DAP instead of PKR or Amanah that hinders them from voting for PH.

“In addition to the racial and religious factor, PH doesn’t have anything to brag about in terms of achievements which reach the populace at ground level, bearing in mind that BN has controlled the levers of power at the state level for the past four years,” he said. - FMT