With two tigers on a mountain, PN will remain unstable, says analyst

 

Analyst James Chin says you can only have one core Malay party, and not two or three, leading the government.

PETALING JAYA: The Perikatan Nasional government will always be unstable as there are two core Malay parties fighting for dominance, says an analyst.

James Chin of the University of Tasmania’s Asia Institute said these two parties were Umno and PPBM, both currently part of the ruling administration.

“You have two tigers on the same mountain, and that mountain can only support one,” he said, referring to a popular Chinese proverb.

Chin was speaking at the 2021 Malaysia Outlook and Economic Forum jointly organised by the KSI Institute For Asia Pacific and the Malaysian International Chamber of Commerce and Industry this morning.

He said Barisan Nasional, which ruled Malaysia for 61 years until its fall in the 2018 general election, had been stable because it had one core Malay party.

“You can have as many parties you want representing the other political interest groups, or ethnic groups, but you can (only) have one core Malay party. That’s how it became very stable.”

Chin said the instability in the PN government was due to the component parties trying to increase their support among the Malay electorate.

This, he said, meant that three parties – Umno, PAS and PPBM – were fighting over the 110 rural Malay seats and were trying to do it in a way where a “clear winner” would emerge in the next general election, he said.

In the last general election, the Malay votes were split three ways.

“They want to make sure there is no repeat of this scenario and that there will be a clear winner for the Malay seats,” he said.

He said PN would only be stable once there is a single dominant Malay party.

MCA Youth chairman Nicole Wong said the outcome of the next general election would likely mirror the situation now where no single coalition commands a solid majority and support.

“The ruling coalition will constantly be blackmailed by MPs who threaten to withdraw support unless their demands are met,” she said. - FMT