From a softer Anwar to BN-PN unity, campaign lines emerge

 The campaign has so far been defined less by policy than by competing political narratives aimed at energising each coalition's core supporters.

Political narratives and voter mobilisation have dominated the first week of campaigning ahead of the Negeri Sembilan polls on Aug 1. (Bernama pic)

SEREMBAN:

One week into the Negeri Sembilan election campaign, the battle lines are becoming clearer as the main coalitions adopt sharply different strategies to win over voters ahead of polling day on Aug 1.

Rather than competing over policy, the campaign has largely centred on political messaging designed to energise each coalition’s traditional support base.

A more restrained Anwar

In Johor, Pakatan Harapan chairman Anwar Ibrahim campaigned aggressively, repeatedly attacking rivals and often singling out menteri besar Onn Hafiz Ghazi — drawing criticism that a sitting prime minister shouldn’t campaign like an opposition leader.

In Negeri Sembilan, however, Anwar has taken a markedly different approach.

He spoke in a calm, subdued tone at his first campaign stop, a youth gathering on Wednesday, Rather than attacking opponents, he urged young people to study hard and care for their parents.

At a ceramah in Paroi that evening, he acknowledged the change: “If I shout and speak loudly, people will criticise me for not speaking like a prime minister. When people criticise us, sometimes we have to listen and accept it. But surely Anwar Ibrahim cannot always speak softly.”

Flashes of the more combative Anwar from Johor did resurface, but the overall tone has stayed markedly more restrained.

Familiar DAP themes

DAP’s campaign has been the most consistent within PH, framing the contest not as PH versus the BN-PN pact, but as a fight against BN and PAS specifically.

For many Chinese voters, the prospect of PAS gaining greater influence remains a far more effective campaign message than arguments over the political circumstances that led to the election.

PH leaders had initially sought to blame Umno’s withdrawal of support from the state government for triggering the state poll, but that message failed to resonate with this group.

DAP has since returned to its familiar themes on PAS, urging supporters not to become complacent and to turn out in force on polling day.

BN-PN unity becomes a campaign message

While PH spent the opening week refining its pitch, BN and PN have focused on demonstrating that their electoral cooperation is working.

So far there has been little visible friction on the ground, despite early questions on whether Umno grassroots members would accept campaigning alongside PN.

BN chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has taken centre stage, becoming the coalition’s most active campaigner instead of allowing the election to revolve around a single poster boy.

One of BN’s sharper lines has been Zahid’s repeated challenge to Anwar to sack BN ministers if he’s unhappy with them — a response to Anwar warning federal ministers and deputy ministers in his unity government against attacking each other during the campaign, saying those who did should resign.

Zahid responded by saying there was no need for anyone to resign because the prime minister had the power to remove ministers himself if he wished.

The message has boldly allowed Umno to counter the “UM-DAP” jibes of PN supporters by casting itself as a partner willing to openly challenge PH within government, while also reassuring Umno grassroots uneasy about Zahid’s cooperation with DAP at the federal level.

BN and PN have instructed their supporters to vote for each other’s candidates in seats they are not contesting, reinforcing the electoral understanding that has so far shown few public signs of strain.

Bersatu searches for relevance

No party appears to have had a more difficult first week than Bersatu, which is contesting under its own logo for the first time amid tensions with PAS and the wider PN leadership.

The party has struggled to build a visible ground presence, with many candidates appearing to lack the machinery PH and the BN-PN pact can draw on.

Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin has publicly complained about being left out of PN decision-making, even as PN has told its own supporters to back BN candidates where relevant.

Although some political observers initially believed Bersatu’s presence could split the Malay vote in ways that might benefit PH, the opening week has provided little evidence that such a shift is taking place.

Instead, Malay support appears to be consolidating around the BN-PN alliance, leaving Bersatu searching for relevance in a campaign where it has struggled to define its role.

With just over a week to polling day, the race is expected to intensify. For now, the opening week suggests each coalition is fighting on narrative and turnout, not policy. - FMT