Penang deputy chief minister II P Ramasamy believes that a big win for Umno in the Johor state election will give the party the confidence to push for the general election soon after.
He said the results of the recent Malacca election and the much earlier by-elections have given confidence to Umno that the corruption-tainted party can go it alone with the other BN component parties and doesn't need PAS or Bersatu.
"The coming Johor state election will be much-watched and the results might foretell what could happen in the next federal election.
"I would say that the call for the Johor state election was the work of Umno.
"In fact, the party wants to test its popularity in Johor before pressuring the federal government to call for the general election. If Umno/BN wins the state elections, the momentum to hold an early general election will be stepped up," said Ramasamy in a statement today.
He brushed off denials by Umno leaders that the push for an early election was unrelated to court charges against senior party leaders like former premier Najib Abdul Razak and party president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.
"National popularity is one thing, but Umno wants to ensure that elections could be held early enough before the court makes decisions on those charged or even convicted for corruption," added Ramasamy, who is also Perai state assemblyperson.
In a state of flux
He said while Umno was currently enjoying an upswing in support, both the PN coalition led by PAS and Bersatu and the Pakatan Harapan coalition was in a state of flux.
"For the PN coalition headed by Bersatu, the Johor state election is all about its relevancy in Malaysian politics.
"Bersatu is unsure about making a difference in Johor politics, as the ‘poster boy’ Muhyiddin Yassin is not even keen to contest.
"As for PAS, now deserted by Umno, it has no choice but to go along with Bersatu," said Ramasamy.
He conceded that Harapan, which includes his own party DAP, was in a struggle to regain its old footing and momentum.
"Its strength was to some extent reduced in both the Malacca and Sarawak state elections.
"In both the elections, DAP seats were reduced to about half whereas PKR was wiped out, while Amanah managed to win only one seat in Malacca.
"It would be an uphill battle for Harapan to make a comeback to the strength and resilience it had before the 2018 general elections," he said.
Ramasamy felt that the memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Harapan and the current government of Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob was more of an issue than which logo Harapan parties were using.
"It is agreed within Harapan that PKR would use its own party logo whereas DAP and Amanah will use the coalition’s logo.
"PKR, given its poor performance in the Malacca and Sarawak state elections, thinks that the change of logo might endear itself to the Malay voters.”
It is argued that the Harapan logo was identified with the former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s stay in power for 22 months.
"I am not sure about the impact of the change of logo, but Harapan as a whole is surely handicapped with the MOU with the federal government," he added.
While the MOU might have provided some representational and monetary gains to the opposition, it is surely an obstacle when it comes to oppositional politics. - Mkini
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