Analyst Syaza Syukri says it is unlikely that Umno’s state chapters will be granted full autonomy to discuss alliances with other parties any time soon.
Syaza Syukri of International Islamic University Malaysia said Umno’s central leadership still had the final say on the matter.
She also played down the likelihood of state chapters being granted full autonomy any time soon.
“They (the central Umno leadership) may not interfere in the initial negotiations (for a possible alliance), but they will ultimately give the nod or not,” she told FMT.
The Umno Supreme Council agreed last Friday to allow state leaders to discuss and negotiate electoral agreements with other parties for coming elections.
The party’s secretary-general, Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki, said any alliance must be based on “trust and sincerity, and not ultimatums”.
Barisan Nasional (BN), of which Umno is the lynchpin, previously said it wanted to continue its cooperation with Perikatan Nasional (PN) in the Melaka polls, following the coalitions’ victory in the Negeri Sembilan election.
However, BN chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi later said BN wanted to contest the 21 seats it won in the last Melaka election, while PN said negotiations were still ongoing.
On Sunday, Zahid said formal negotiations with Pakatan Harapan (PH) – its ally in the federal unity government – on cooperation in Melaka were expected to begin after the dissolution of the state legislative assembly.
Syaza said the decision to allow state leaders to discuss possible tie-ups with other parties was a response to the changing political landscape, which required strategies to be tailored to local political conditions.
“Umno is acknowledging that the ‘one formula for all’ is no longer tenable, as the party’s strength and voter sentiment differ across states.”
She gave the example of Johor, where BN contested all 56 seats on its own and went head-to-head with PH.
National Council of Professors fellow Azmi Hassan said the Supreme Council’s decision was based on the political landscape in the respective states.
He said while BN might find it easier to identify the party it wanted to forge an electoral agreement with in Melaka or Negeri Sembilan, the situation would be different in Perak, Pahang and the four PAS-led states of Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu and Perlis.
“Different political landscapes require different approaches.”
He also said that alliances formed for state elections would be no indication of the political alignment for the next general election. - FMT
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