Not easy to hope for Umno to sacrifice for Bersatu - analysts

It is hard to imagine how the Perikatan Nasional (PN), especially Umno, PAS and Bersatu, will come out with a collaboration formula ahead of the next general election.

However, when Bersatu Supreme Council member Wan Saiful Wan Jan urged Umno to sacrifice in order for PN to be viable and that Umno should not be the dominant party in PN like it was in BN, it shed some light on the matter.

Political analysts opine that it is impossible for Umno to make way for Bersatu, what more to surrender seats contested by the former in every general election.

What Wan Saiful said can be seen from the aspect of ensuring the political survival of Bersatu until the 15th general election, says political analyst Mazlan Ali.

"However, I see his view as not something that Umno would consider. It is rather a burdensome request for Umno to even think of it given that it is an old party in politics," he said.

"The request made by Umno's splinter party is not reasonable. By comparison, Umno has by far the largest number of branches with a membership of over three million and it is widely supported by the Malays," Mazlan told Malaysiakini when contacted.

Wan Saiful Wan Jan

Malay-majority parliamentary seats account for approximately 130 out of the total 222 and since they have been traditional seats contested by Umno against PAS for decades, Umno is still able to control these seats, he noted.

"Umno once won more than 80 of these parliamentary seats," said Mazlan, who is a senior lecturer at the Perdana Centre, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM).

"To me, it is unworkable for Umno to make way for Bersatu which has demanded for 50 seats as Umno will lose its status as the dominant party in Malay politics," he added.

"Without Bersatu or PN, Umno can still win the next election with a convincing majority with its cooperation with PAS via Muafakat Nasional," he said.

"So how is it that Umno will surrender its seats that easily to Bersatu when the former is inexperienced? It also has yet to come out with a formula for its seat allocation with PAS," he said.

Meanwhile, Prof Awang Azman Awang Pawi of Universiti Malaya (UM) said in the context of PN, things should be evaluated based on need before talking about the sacrifice of a particular party.

The fact that needed to be taken into consideration was the rationale of Bersatu in requesting for 50 seats when it only won 13 seats out of the total 52 it contested in 2018 polls, he said.

"And five of these parliamentary seats belong to the faction of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad instead of the allies of Muhyiddin Yassin," he said.

"Apart from that, Umno would definitely want to take back the seats which it won but whose representatives later defected to Bersatu. These seats, too, were the traditional seats of Umno," he said.

"In its recent meeting, Umno assessed the status of PN and Muafakat Nasional and it wants to play a more appropriate role that tallies with its historical background and the consistency of its core struggle," he said.

The sacrifice of a party is something subjective as it could lead to an unexpected situation due to the dynamics of politics, he added.

"Many things could happen, among others, Umno has a choice to remain with PN before Parliament is dissolved," he said.

"This is because Umno has its own direction and it is not easy for the party to accept those who had betrayed them," he said.

"As much as it is difficult for PAS to accept and cooperate with Amanah, it is similar for Umno grassroots to accept Bersatu which previously had hurled many allegations against them," he said.  - Mkini