‘Umno-DAP alliance’ just a castle in the air, say analysts

 

It was recently implied that Umno and DAP could join forces after the 15th general election.

PETALING JAYA: Any effort by Umno and DAP to form an alliance after the next general election (GE15) would be a nightmare, two political analysts say, citing the vastly different ideologies that the parties uphold.

Mujibu Muis of Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) said just trying to convince the grassroots of the two parties would be a huge problem as Umno members were more conservative while those in DAP were “liberal and aggressive.”

“DAP’s ideology won’t complement Umno’s and vice-versa. Will they ever be comfortable working together?” he said.

Mujibu added that DAP also risked alienating fence-sitters, especially among the professionals, should the party express any intention to join forces with a “party of kleptocrats,” an accusation it had often levelled at Umno.

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Mujibu Muis.

He said voters would not be swayed even if DAP were to cite political stability as a rationale for joining forces with Umno.

“If somehow the two parties did form an alliance, it would be shortlived,” he added.

Azmi Hassan of Akademi Nusantara said that although on paper an alliance would lead to a more stable government, as the two parties had a huge influence on Malay and non-Malay voters, the lack of trust between the two would stifle efforts to join forces.

He also said it would be difficult for such a union to materialise, citing the longstanding rivalry between the two parties.

Azmi Hassan.

“If they (Umno) find it hard to accept Bersatu and (PKR president) Anwar Ibrahim because of what happened in the past, it would be even more difficult for the grassroots to accept DAP.”

Last week, DAP secretary-general Loke Siew Fook implied that cooperation between DAP and Umno might happen after GE15 given the drastic changes in Malaysian politics since the 2018 polls (GE14), and the absence of a single dominant party.

DAP and its Pakatan Harapan (PH) partners, PKR and Amanah, have cooperated with Umno and its leaders on matters such as the ousting of Bersatu’s Ahmad Faizal Azumu as Perak menteri besar and the memorandum of understanding (MoU) between PH and Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob in September last year. - FMT