‘Progressive bloc’ seen to have potential despite Johor drubbing

 Analysts say Muda and PSM can boost their relevance by selecting better candidates, improving their grassroots organisation, as well as forming pacts with parties like Bersama.

Muda and Parti Sosialis Malaysia failed to win any of their contests at the Johor election on Saturday.

PETALING JAYA:

The “progressive bloc” of Muda and Parti Sosialis Malaysia still holds electoral potential despite its poor showing in the Johor election, according to political analysts.

They said the two minor opposition parties could boost their relevance by fielding better candidates, tightening their grassroots organisation, and even reaching electoral pacts with parties like Parti Bersama Malaysia, led by former PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli.

Asrul Sani.

Asrul Sani of Asia Group said Muda must reassess how it defines itself as a youth-based party; the party’s leadership and representatives must reflect Muda’s core identity and give younger voters a compelling reason to support it.

“The loss of Muda’s only state seat (Puteri Wangsa) points to deeper problems with its appeal, organisation and candidate selection,” he told FMT.

Muda president Amira Aisya Abdul Aziz won in Puteri Wangsa in 2022 through a pact with Pakatan Harapan but chose not to seek re-election. She said she will contest a parliamentary seat instead at the next general election.

The party fielded political greenhorn Rashifa Aljunied, who received 5,887 votes, about an eighth of the 41,821 garnered by PKR’s victorious candidate Maszlee Malik.

Alliance with Bersama

Political scientist James Chin of the University of Tasmania said Muda and PSM should consider forming an alliance with Bersama, which he described as gaining traction among voters the two parties have struggled to attract.

James Chin.

Although Bersama did not make much gains in Johor, its emergence raised fresh questions over the relevance of Muda and PSM, whose defeat in Johor was widely expected, Chin said.

“If PSM, Muda and Bersama get together in some sort of alliance, or even a loose alliance, I think each of them will benefit,” he said. Muda was unlikely to make significant progress on its own while PSM has struggled to turn its activism and grassroots work into election victories.

“The only time PSM made headway was when they teamed up with PH, he said, referring to PSM chairman Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj’s election as Sungai Siput MP in the 2008 and 2013 general elections.

However, Asrul said PSM and Muda would not offer much in a cooperation with Bersama if the two parties fail to strengthen their ground organisation and offer voters better candidates, and concentrate their resources on a small number of winnable seats.

Muda fielded four candidates in Johor while PSM had one. All lost their election deposits. Bersama’s 15 candidates also lost their deposits but the party managed to affect the outcome in two PH-held seats which fell to Barisan Nasional. - FMT