Bersatu Youth chief Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal said the communal protector mentality are not unique to Malays only.
He also appeared to imply that because Perikatan Nasional (PN) provides "comfort" to Malays, and that the Bersatu-led coalition could deliver Malay votes for Pakatan Harapan.
Wan Fayhsal’s (above) latest remarks, made in a series of social media videos yesterday, came amid continued pushback against his claim that Malays have a neo-feudal need for a protector, a mentality which he said Harapan refused to acknowledge.
In one video, the deputy national unity minister said the Chinese community also votes with a communal protector in mind.
"It's not just unique to Malay voters. Why do Chinese voters still hold on to DAP? Because they too see DAP as a protector of Chinese interests.
"Why do we vote on racial lines? Because we believe these political parties not only represent the Malaysian interest but also their communal interests.
"Why is it so hard for Harapan, people like Rafizi and others, Muda, (to) figure this out," Wan Fayhsal said.
He added that Harapan's failure was in not taking into consideration the sociology of Malay politics.
Racist politics
However, he stressed that this does not mean embracing racist politics as espoused by Umno.
Wan Fayhsal had previously said that Malays rejected Harapan because they were not ready to accept the coalition's "full-blown liberal democracy" ideals.
He had also said that Malays embraced Bersatu after they left Harapan, as it was seen as a rejection of liberalism.
Expanding on this yesterday, Wan Fayhsal said that in eastern societies like Malaysia, there is no such thing as equality for all, but rather, equitability for all.
"There is a proper place for everyone in all things," he said, citing how in the west children can sue parents, whereas, in the east, the people know the stature of parents.
He also said that Malay voters have switched to PN because it provides them with a "comfort zone".
Comfort zone
Wan Fayhsal appeared to indicate that Harapan can benefit from this as well.
"Malay voters have shifted to PN because there is a comfort zone, an assurance of confidence that PN brings to Malay voters who reject Umno, and brings (Malay votes) to PN and Harapan," he said.
This comes amid a push by Bersatu to explore new alliances ahead of the 15th general election which is expected to be held in the second half of this year.
Harapan's current leadership has also espoused what it calls a "big tent" approach for all opposition to unite against Umno-BN.
Harapan chief Anwar Ibrahim said he has met with Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin several times, although the former said giving support to the latter was not discussed.
Both Harapan and Bersatu's PN have suffered in the polls due to multi-cornered fights under the current first past the post electoral system.
In both the Malacca and Johor state elections, split votes allowed BN to capture a two-thirds majority despite winning less than half of the popular vote. - Mkini
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