Anwar’s strategic charm offensive in opposition states

 

"It wants to show that the presence of PN state governments is accepted by the Pakatan Harapan-led federal government - that they are not threatened and there is no urgency for voters to vote for PN, no matter what or who the local candidate is."

– Political scientist Wong Chin Huat

Kudos to Anwar Ibrahim’s team for carrying out a Raya charm offensive in opposition-controlled states. Taking the PM’s Aidilfitri open house out of Putrajaya and taking it to the Malay heartland is a good strategic move for this unity government.

Sure, the denials that this has nothing to do with the forthcoming state elections are nonsensical but this is pure political theatre and is exactly what people in opposition-controlled states need to see.

Anwar’s greatest political advantage is his ability to make connections with the average ‘Joe rakyat’ and now that he is prime minister, instead of just the opposition leader or handmaid to the old maverick, he has a platform that gives him access to voters that his coalition desperately needs.

What Perikatan Nasional is determined to do is undermine Anwar’s credibility as a Muslim leader. With PN and especially PAS they have nothing else.

Anwar does not need to convince the whole of the PAS base that he is the kind of Muslim leader this country needs.

All he needs to do is convince a percentage of PAS supporters that he is not the kind of leader that PAS makes him out to be.

If he manages to do this, especially with these open houses in the Malay heartlands, he loosens the political soil when it comes to not only how he is viewed but also the government he leads.

In the coming state elections, this government is playing the defensive. This government wins if it holds on to what it currently has.

For PN it is much simpler. All they have to do is hold on to what they have (which is far simpler for them) and carve out small slices of Harapan territories to make it seem like the green wave is unstoppable.

Which, funnily enough, is exactly the kind of thinking of Singapore Institute of International Affairs (SIIA) senior fellow Oh Ei Sun, who said: “I think he (Anwar) is just doing the best he could to try to stop a bit of the much-anticipated green-wave electoral onslaught.

“I think he is only putting up some semblance of a political fight.

“He knows very well that nobody could really stop the green wave. They (PAS) are not only politically but also religiously invincible.”

What a party pooper.

There is really no need to carry this much water for PAS. To claim that PAS is politically and religiously invincible, is well, horse manure. If PAS was politically and religiously invincible, it would not be so spooked by everything.

Malay heartland

PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, for instance, understands that the only way he can get and hold on to federal power is if he and his Malay uber alles allies gerrymander the system even more until the non-Malay and urban vote is meaningless.

He said this on various campaign stumps during the last general election, which is why he was hopping mad at Umno for betraying him.

Hadi understands that the reason why PAS is in this position is because of the unfair weightage of votes in the Malay heartland which favours them.

Remember Dr Mahathir Mohamad even acknowledged this unfair weightage to justify his inclusion and leadership of Harapan, when Harapan came into power the first time.

As long as Putrajaya or anyone who runs it is afraid for whatever reason to come into PAS’s territory, PAS is safe. In fact, Anwar should be making more overtures to these opposition states.

While he should not take the urban strongholds for granted, he should be spending more time demonstrating to folks in the Malay heartland that they have not been forgotten.

PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang

PAS is merely using the old Umno trick of making sure their rural vote base remains ignorant and suspicious of federal power. Umno did this - but it also ensured that the gravy train stopped at strategic points to grease the rural grassroots.

Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor has denied asking teenage students for their support for him but is this what passes as a communal religious event for PAS?

Why such a desperate plea for attention for the menteri besar of Kedah? Well because he knows, PN knows and PAS certainly knows that all these corruption charges against PN members - far from being viewed as machinations by the Anwar state - are gaining traction with the base.

Anwar is popping in to see them demonstrate that he and his government have nothing to hide.

Now do not get optimistic that these visits somehow weaken PAS and its allies. It most probably doesn’t but what it does is normalise relationships between Putrajaya and the Malay heartlands that Umno and race-based parties like PAS have always attempted to sour.

As long as people in the heartlands think that Putrajaya is not bothered about them, this leaves them vulnerable to the kind of toxic politics that Umno and PN engage in.

Hopefully, these types of initiatives by the unity government and economic policies aimed at breaking the cycle of ignorance, poverty and apathy that PN wishes to enable will spread through the Malay heartlands.

The most important thing here is perception. If you want to do something like this, you had better make sure that people turn up.

If not, this unity government will just hand PN a fantastic public relations win. - Mkini

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S THAYAPARAN is Commander (Rtd) of the Royal Malaysian Navy. Fīat jūstitia ruat cælum - “Let justice be done though the heavens fall.”

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.