THIRD FORCE? YES, THEY CAN CREATE A LOT OF NOISE & LIGHT – BUT MALAYSIANS WILL VOTE EITHER PAKATAN OR UMNO-PAS AT THE END OF THE DAY

PETALING JAYA: Analysts have dismissed talk of the emergence of a “third force” in Malaysian politics, following a study by a think tank which found that 17% of those surveyed would vote for independent candidates.

Azmi Hassan of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and James Chin of University of Tasmania’s Asia Institute said the presence of a third force will not make a major impact on the current political arena.

Azmi said Pakatan Harapan and the Umno-PAS Muafakat Nasional would remain the dominant forces that will determine the nation’s politics, adding that many other “third force” parties have come and gone in the past.

“When Putra (Parti Bumiputera Perkasa Malaysia) was formed, the party was touted as a replacement for Umno and PAS’ style of politics but I think they never gained any traction.

Azmi Hassan of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia.

“The same goes for Berjasa. Despite being in existence for a long time, the party has not made any impact.

“And look at Gerakan that tried to rebrand itself away from the Barisan Nasional stigma and, for the time being, failing miserably,” he told FMT.

Azmi said there are simply no other choices available for dissatisfied Malaysians, and that a third force could only be successful through a “non-political” movement, using Bersih as an example.

“Bersih had a huge influence in the 14th general election, and since the opposition then is now the government, Bersih has lost its third force stature.

“So, Malaysians need another mould of a third force like Bersih where these dissatisfied groups can channel their support. For the time being, no third force is coming close to the pre-GE14 Bersih,” he said.

Chin said Malaysians are largely conservative and only think of politics in the form of the government or opposition.

James Chin of University of Tasmania’s Asia Institute.

He said a third force would only make an impact among people interested in politics, who are in the minority.

A third force, he said, would have to shift its narrative beyond the 3Rs – race, religion and royalty – although he noted that this is not groundbreaking.

“In every general election, people talk about a third force but it has never been able to make an impact.

Basically, what a third force does is to insert a new agenda to the political debate. But they do not win elections.

“So now, the third force is to reject both BN or Umno and PH, going for a middle way. An example is MAJU (Malaysian Action for Justice and Unity),” he said.

Chin said this third force would mainly comprise the middle class who have been disappointed by PH but do not want BN or PAS.

“They will create a lot of noise and light, but at the end of the day, voters will vote for the government or opposition,” he said.

A survey by Emir Research on satisfaction with the government found that some 17% of respondents indicated they would vote for independent candidates instead of Umno-PAS or PH if a general election were to be held now.

Emir Research president Rais Hussin also highlighted that this statistic was particularly prevalent among the urban, young and non-Malay groups.

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