Go for PN strongholds and seats PH gives to BN, Muda told

 

Political analyst Wong Chin Huat says Muda should avoid crossing swords with PH or Umno leaders but focus on wooing voters who are inclined not to support either.

PETALING JAYA: A political analyst has advised Muda to contest no more than 10% of the seats up for grabs at the impending elections in six states to maximise its chances at the polls.

Political scientist Wong Chin Huat of Sunway University said Muda should select a mixture of seats, including Perikatan Nasional bastions which may be deemed a lost cause by both Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional.

“(Muda should also go for) seats previously held by PH but conceded to BN, not just comfortable multiethnic urban seats held and to be contested by PH,” he told FMT.

Wong Chin Huat.

Wong said this would make it possible for Muda to make some impact in the state polls rather than have all its candidates lose their deposits.

It will also allow the party to avoid being accused of rocking the boat by contesting in every constituency.

Wong warned Muda that it would be unwise to only focus on urban and multiethnic seats, as these are PH strongholds which may see the coalition’s supporters shunning the party.

“Muda will then just end up as another Gerak Independent with a party logo,” he said, referring to the initiative that unsuccessfully pushed for independent candidates to become MPs in the 15th general election.

Wong also warned Muda not to cross swords with PH or Umno leaders. Instead, the party should focus on wooing voters who may be jaded by politicking or are disenchanted with Umno but do not trust PH, he said.

“Politically fatigued or disinterested voters can go up to around 40% (of the electorate) in this election. If Muda can win around half of their votes, that would automatically draw votes from PH and firmly place Muda as the winner or first runner-up, not a spoiler.”

Wong also came to Muda’s defence for going solo in the state polls, saying he expected several parties in the unity government to clash when Sabah and Sarawak held their state elections.

“It is likely that Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS), PH, BN and Warisan may clash with each other in Sabah, and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) and PH, too, in Sarawak.”

James Chin.

However, James Chin of the University of Tasmania said PH should get Muda to drop its ambition of going solo. Instead, he said the coalition should rope Muda and all “anti-PN” parties together, to ensure straight fights in the state polls.

He added that this did not necessarily mean immediately making Muda a PH component, but simply ensuring they were on the same side.

“If you look at BN, they always had support from smaller parties which are not direct members of BN, (such as Makkal Sakti), so that can be done easily this time as well.”

Social media tiffs worse for Muda than PH

Meanwhile, Azmi Hassan of Akademi Nusantara warned Muda that public tiffs on social media with PH members and leaders would be detrimental to the party given its minimal reach and support base.

Azmi Hassan.

He said these disputes were unlikely to affect voters’ perception of PH heading into the state elections.

“The negative impact on any party having a spat with (Muda) will be very minimal, but worse on Muda,” Azmi said, echoing Wong’s call for Muda leaders to avoid crossing swords with PH or Umno leaders.

However, Chin dismissed the social media feud as a “storm in a teacup”, saying such quarrels were quite normal.

“The reality of social media is that people very often forget their quarrel by the next week because something controversial will happen again. So, you can argue this is all about positioning themselves. They are forcing PH to hold negotiations with them.” - FMT