Negeri Sembilan polls — race that hinges on race

 BN-PN’s Malay unity push and PH’s minority appeal have taken centre stage, leaving less time for discussions on governance and development.

A total of 36 seats are up for grabs in the 16th Negeri Sembilan state election, with 889,490 voters eligible to cast their ballots.

SEREMBAN:

Elections are often distinguished by a defining campaign narrative. In Malaysia, it is race, and this has never been more evident than in the hustings for the Negeri Sembilan election today.

In the two weeks leading up to D-Day, “wakil rakyat” hopefuls inundated voters with promises centred on jobs, investments, and better public service.

Yet, the narrative that stood out was the one that focused on identity politics — expounded in equal fervour by the three coalitions that were jostling for seats in the state assembly.

Barisan Nasional (BN) and partner Perikatan Nasional (PN) zeroed in on the Malay-Muslim unity spiel while rival Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) pitch was mainly a caution against electing a government dominated by Malay-based parties.

On the side, BN also wisely pushed a less divisive and more rational option: governance-focused administration.

Racial divide

At the heart of BN and PN’s campaign was the message of Malay unity (penyatuan ummah). Their argument was that their electoral understanding was necessary to ensure stable leadership in Negeri Sembilan.

In previous elections, BN and PN would have fought over the same pool of Malay voters, often splitting the votes between them. This time, they stayed out of each other’s way, hoping that doing so would be enough to overcome PH’s traditional strength in constituencies with largely non-Malay voters.

The calculation makes sense on paper. Malays make up 57% of the electorate in Negeri Sembilan, while 23 of the state’s 36 seats have Malay-majority electorates. In 11 of those seats, Malays account for more than 75% of voters.

But their campaign hit a snag last week when PN election director and Kedah menteri besar Sanusi Nor sparked controversy at a ceramah in Jempol by claiming that “Tanah Melayu” was the homeland for Malays.

For many, by making that remark, Sanusi had implicitly questioned the loyalty of Malaysian Chinese and Indians.

Given that unexpected development, the test of the BN-PN strategy may now rest on how non-Malay voters respond to Sanusi’s goof.

An opportunity to exploit

Rather than be discouraged, PH worked to turn the Malay-Muslim unity rhetoric to its own advantage.

It became a rallying point for the coalition, particularly its component DAP. It issued a warning that a government dominated by Malay-based parties could weaken minority representation.

That message appeared to resonate with some older Chinese voters who had initially shown little interest in the state election, believing that federal politics mattered more.

Conversations with these voters at ceramahs in several Chinese-majority constituencies suggested that the prospect of a BN-PN state government had given some of them a stronger reason to turn up and vote today.

But PH did not escaped criticism either. With much of its messaging focused on countering BN-PN’s narrative and warnings about the consequences of a Malay-unity government, the question was whether it had anything else to offer.

In conversations with non-Malay voters on the campaign trail, some questioned why PH was spending so much time responding to BN-PN’s messaging instead of explaining what it would do differently if returned to power.

At many of its press conferences, leaders focused on rebutting their opponents’ claims and highlighted the risks posed by BN-PN but offered few new ideas or a clear five-year plan for the state.

Not everyone buys it

It was not all smooth sailing for BN and PN either.

While their Malay unity narrative was aimed at consolidating Malay support, some in the community expressed discomfort with a campaign centred heavily on race and religion. They questioned whether such issues had overshadowed broader concerns affecting all communities.

Some younger urban Malays, many of whom commute to Kuala Lumpur for work, said they were tired of campaign messages centred on race and religion. They wanted to hear more about jobs, wages and how to deal with the rising cost of living.

Still, there is little to suggest that this group is large enough to have a significant impact on the outcome.

The issues that matter

Meanwhile, BN attempted to carve out a different position from both PH and PN by focusing on governance, stability and economic development.

The coalition pointed to Johor’s economic progress and pledged to bring a similar approach to Negeri Sembilan if it forms the next state government, hoping to appeal to voters beyond identity politics.

But for all the talk about manifestos and development plans, this campaign may be remembered less for competing ideas about how to govern Negeri Sembilan than for how each coalition used identity to win hearts and minds.

The result could also show whether Malaysia’s latest political realignment can reshape a familiar electoral divide: a more united Malay vote on one side and a multiracial electorate on the other. - FMT