Joining PN won’t benefit MCA, MIC, says analyst

 

MCA and MIC might face the same fate as Gerakan if they were to join PN, an analyst said.

PETALING JAYA: A political analyst has downplayed the likelihood of MCA and MIC leaving Barisan Nasional to join Perikatan Nasional (PN), saying it will not change the fortunes of the two parties.

“It is more difficult to be in the opposition, why would they want that?” said Council of Professors fellow Jeniri Amir.

He was commenting on Bersatu associate wing information chief S Subramaniam’s invitation to MCA and MIC to join PN.

According to a Malaysiakini report, Subramaniam said it was better for MCA and MIC to join PN, as they had been “sidelined” by Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s government. Neither party had any representative in the Cabinet, he added.

Jeniri said it would not make sense for MCA and MIC to join PN as “their voters are non-Muslims”.

“PAS is perceived as being insensitive to the interests of non-Muslim voters,” he told FMT, adding that MCA and MIC would not be able to win the non-Muslim vote so long as PAS was part of PN.

Should MCA and MIC join PN, both parties would face the same fate as Gerakan which failed to win any parliamentary seat, he said.

Azmi Hassan of Akademi Nusantara said MCA and MIC had little to offer PN. He said the two parties only managed to win their three Malay-majority seats because of Umno supporters.

“With their three seats, it’s only natural that the unity government does not prioritise them,” he told FMT, adding that this was the nature of politics.

Meanwhile, James Chin of the University of Tasmania said MCA and MIC might help make PN look more multiracial.

The two parties may also have less trouble competing for seats with Gerakan, he said.

However, Chin said the absence of MCA and MIC would not affect the unity government.

“They’re insignificant in the unity government. They only have three seats in total.” - FMT