Conflicting messages show cracks in BN-PN alliance, say analysts

 They say party leaders are spending more time responding to each other's remarks than speaking on key issues.

While BN and PN leaders have reached an understanding not to compete against each other in the Negeri Sembilan polls, the question is whether their cooperation will last.

PETALING JAYA:

An analyst has cautioned that conflicting messages from Barisan Nasional (BN) and Perikatan Nasional (PN) leaders during the Negeri Sembilan election campaign may signal that their cooperation will struggle to hold together for the long term.

Syaza Shukri.

Syaza Shukri of International Islamic University Malaysia pointed to the recent controversies involving PN election director Sanusi Nor’s “Tanah Melayu” remarks, and the proposal to name the alliance “Perikatan Barisan Nasional”.

Syaza said Sanusi’s remarks, which BN leaders did not welcome, could hurt efforts to win over non-Malay voters disillusioned with Pakatan Harapan.

“A big problem could arise if BN and PN want to continue cooperating after the state election without forming a shared leadership structure and objectives.

“Cooperation between two coalitions with differing views is hard to sustain if it rests only on electoral interests,” she told FMT.

BN chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi was among those who criticised Sanusi for saying at a ceramah that the Malays only have Tanah Melayu as their homeland, whereas the Chinese have China, and Indians have India.

Sanusi later denied that his remarks were intended to question the citizenship or rights of Malaysian Chinese and Indians.

On the issue of naming the alliance “Perikatan Barisan Nasional”, Umno vice-president Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail, who is also the Pahang menteri besar, reportedly called the term “irrelevant”.

Wawasan secretary-general Saifuddin Abdullah had said the suggestion was made spontaneously to make the pact easier to refer to, not to establish a formal coalition.

Mazlan Ali.

Mazlan Ali of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia said BN-PN cooperation appeared smooth early in the campaign but had since shown coordination problems as leaders from both sides issued contradictory statements.

He said differing campaign standards between BN and PN had forced BN to spend time responding to controversies instead of building support.

“BN should be able to focus on campaigning, but now it has to respond to, and clean up, any mistakes that have occurred,” he said.

Ahmad Zaharuddin Sani Ahmad Sabri.

Ahmad Zaharuddin Sani Ahmad Sabri of Global Asia Consulting said the controversy over Sanusi’s remarks had shifted the focus of the election campaign away from the economy, cost of living and development, towards debate over racial identity.

“In the social media era, context often loses to a 30-second video clip, because lengthy explanations afterwards rarely overcome the emotional impact already formed in voters’ minds,” he said.

Still, he said, a single controversy would not necessarily cause the alliance to collapse, as political relationships built on strategic interest tend to endure. = FMT