Negeri Sembilan ‘model’ may not succeed elsewhere, say analysts

 

PH and BN achieved ‘ideological harmonisation’ at the grassroot level by campaigning on constitutional principles, the Rukun Negara and the special position of the Malays, said analysts Takiyuddin Ismail (left) and Azwan Abd Rahman.

PETALING JAYA: Political analysts have poured cold water on a PKR MP’s call for Pakatan Harapan-Barisan Nasional to adopt the “Negeri Sembilan model” to stop Perikatan Nasional’s momentum in future elections.

Analysts Takiyuddin Ismail and Azwan Abd Rahman said the “one-size-fits-all” approach suggested by Subang MP Wong Chen will not work given the varying political landscape across the nation.

“Every state has (its) own history, background, needs and orientations,” Takiyuddin, of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, told FMT.

“This is what makes Malaysian politics interesting, where parties will have to come up with different models for each state.”

Takiyuddin also said Wong should not overstate the unity coalition’s success in Negeri Sembilan as 10 of the 31 PH-BN seats were won with majorities of less than 700.

Of the 245 seats that were up for grabs across the six states last Saturday, 146 were won by PN, while PH-BN took the rest.

However, PN did not perform as well in Negeri Sembilan as in the five other states, as PH-BN managed to win a two-thirds majority.

Following the results, Wong called for the adoption of the “PH-BN model in Negeri Sembilan”.

However, PN did make some inroads, winning five seats in the state with PAS snagging three. In the 2018 general election, PAS failed to win a single seat in the state.

Azwan, of think tank Naratif Malaysia, said PH-BN’s campaign in Negeri Sembilan was focused on promoting the Rukun Negara and fundamental constitutional principles, allowing for “ideological harmonisation” and reconciliation between the BN and DAP grassroots.

He said DAP secretary-general Loke Siew Fook, who successfully defended his Chennah seat, had consistently touched on these two points as well as the special position of the Malays when speaking at ceramahs.

“He tried to find points of convergence to ensure there was unity (between PH and BN),” he said.

However, Azwan said the same model may not have much impact in Kedah, Terengganu and Kelantan due to the ethnocentric sentiment prevalent there.

He said such an approach can only work in areas with high political literacy.

“That is why the institutionalisation of political education is key to combating such sentiments, as it is evident that political literacy is very low in those states,” he said.

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Nonetheless, Azwan said, one key aspect that could be emulated in other states is the mobilisation of grassroots in pushing PH-BN’s “ideological harmonisation”, adding that this was absent in other states.

“This mobilisation can only be done by the grassroots leaders, not by the big boys. (PH chairman) Anwar Ibrahim tried to do this in Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu, and failed.” - FMT