DAP, PH stand to lose more in alliance with Umno, says analyst

 

It was recently claimed that DAP’s alliance with Umno in the unity government makes it difficult for Umno to recapture the Malay vote.

PETALING JAYA: DAP and Pakatan Harapan have more to lose in their alliance with Umno, especially in the upcoming state elections, an analyst said.

In dismissing a claim by an Umno leader that the party would find it difficult to recapture the Malay electorate due to its ties with DAP, Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid of Universiti Sains Malaysia said it was actually the other way round.

“It’s the link to Umno that could bring PH and DAP down, or at least erode voters’ support for them,” he told FMT.

Fauzi said PH’s reformist agenda was at odds with Umno’s conservatism.

He cited Umno’s push for a royal pardon for its incarcerated former president, Najib Razak, as well as recent appointments of several party leaders into important positions.

Umno secretary-general Asyraf Waji Dusuki has been appointed the new Mara chairman, and Wanita Umno chief Noraini Ahmad the Risda chairman, while Supreme Council member Ahmad Jazlan Yaakub has been reappointed the Felcra chairman.

Fauzi said Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim could not allow Umno’s whims to prevail over the reformist impulses of the unity government, especially when people had voted for PH to carry out reforms.

He said Umno needed to be put in its place, being only a “junior member” of the unity government.

“It’s simply not ‘business as usual’ as when they were leading the government,” he said.

Last Friday, Umno Supreme Council member Nur Jazlan Mohamed told Utusan Malaysia that Umno was already finding it challenging to win back the support of Malays, and its links to DAP was not helping.

He said this in response to Perak DAP vice-chairman Abdul Aziz Bari’s claim that Malay support had shifted from Umno to Perikatan Nasional.

Awang Azman Pawi of Universiti Malaya said both Umno and DAP would be at the losing end if they did not declare a ceasefire.

“If differences between Umno and DAP are not immediately resolved, both sides stand to lose,” he said, adding that DAP also needed support in constituencies with a significant number of Malay voters.

He said DAP leaders needed to be more careful with their statements so as not to shoot themselves in the foot.

“They should realise that, if provoked, it’s not impossible for Umno’s grassroots to reject DAP or retaliate more aggressively,” he said.

Awang Azman also said Umno Supreme Council member Puad Zarkashi’s recent swipe at DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang over Lim’s remarks on the party’s push for a royal pardon for Najib Razak was only the tip of the iceberg.

“If DAP is not careful, more Umno members will ‘react’ and this will not bode well for the unity government,” he said. - FMT