Muda, PSM being practical to skip KKB poll, say analysts

 

Muda and PSM said they will sit out the Kuala Kubu Baharu by-election on May 11 so that voters can decide on the unity government’s performance. (Facebook pic)

PETALING JAYA: Muda and Parti Sosialis Malaysia made a practical choice to skip the Kuala Kubu Baharu by-election on May 11, say two political analysts.

Azmi Hassan of Akademi Nusantara said the two parties probably want to conserve their resources for more significant elections, given that the Kuala Kubu Baharu results will not have any great bearing on the government.

Azmi Hassan.

“I guess the real reason is that PSM and Muda think that contesting will not affect voter decisions much, as their influence in Kuala Kubu Baharu is minimal,” said Azmi. “They will most probably lose their deposits if they decide to join the fray.”

Syaza Shukri of International Islamic University Malaysia said the two parties know they will not be an effective third force. The two parties have not done enough for their presence to be truly felt as a challenge to the larger parties.

“They know they can’t win, so it doesn’t make sense to waste resources. If they contest, they would most likely get protest votes from supporters of Pakatan Harapan (who don’t want to vote for Perikatan Nasional). But if that happened, PN would have a better chance of winning,” she said.

However, leaders of PSM and Muda denied that the possibility of failure was the reason not to contest.

PSM deputy chairman S Arutchelvan said the two parties’ current challenge is forming an alliance strong enough to contest seats such as Kuala Kubu Baharu and denied that their chances of victory played a part in their decision.

Muda’s acting president, Amira Aisya Abd Rahman, also said the risk of losing was not their main reason, stressing that the party had many candidates it could have fielded.

“Our main focus is to empower the rakyat to decide in a referendum between the government and opposition parties,” she said.

Azmi said the interest shown by Orang Asli-based party Parti Orang Asli Malaysia made sense, despite the party’s relative newness, as Kuala Kubu Baharu has a number of Orang Asli voters.

“They want to test the waters. This is the best place for them to test voters’ acceptance of a party based on the Orang Asli. Muda and PSM have nothing to show in KKB. Not contesting was a wise decision,” he said.

FMT yesterday reported that Asli will field a young Orang Asli businessman from Selangor in the by-election.

Azmi has previously stated that the Asli candidate may be a potential tie-breaker as Orang Asli voters constitute 1% of the seat’s 40,226 voters.

Syaza Syukri.

Syaza said Muda and PSM’s talk of highlighting public issues during the by-election is indirectly in opposition to the government’s policies, which would also help PN’s chances.

PN will field Khairul Azhari Saut of Bersatu in the by-election, while DAP will field Pang Sock Tao, representing PH.

DAP has held the Selangor state assembly seat since 2013. The seat fell vacant when assemblyman Lee Kee Hiong died last month after a battle with cancer.

Nominations for the by-election will be held today. - FMT