PETALING JAYA: Anwar Ibrahim’s unity government will crumble if Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional clash in the polls in six states this year, said an analyst.
Universiti Sains Malaysia’s Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid said it should be Anwar’s utmost priority right now to ensure that PH and BN worked together at both the federal and state levels, and even local elections if these are revived.
“If they clash, it will show the unity displayed by their federal-level counterparts is fragile, hence they might clash too in any federal by-election.
“It’s very important (for them to cooperate in the state polls) in order to convince the rakyat that PH and BN are both serious about maintaining unity at the federal level for the next four to five years,” he told FMT.
Oh Ei Sun of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs said the main goal for PH and BN heading into the state elections would be to avoid clashing at all, so that Perikatan Nasional does not get the upper hand due to split votes.
He believed that unity within the federal government was the least of their worries. “Their main worry is losing to PN by having overlapping contested seats.”
Oh added that neither PH nor BN would have any incentive to go solo in the state polls “because even by combining their efforts they may not defeat PN”.
Anwar is to chair a PH presidential council meeting before Chinese New Year to discuss the coalition’s preparation for the Penang state elections.
The meeting is set to discuss the cooperation within the government for the state elections and seat distribution among parties, among others.
The six states that will hold elections this year are PH-controlled Penang, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan, and the PAS-ruled states of Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu.
PH’s Selangor and Negeri Sembilan chapters previously stated their openness to working with BN in the state elections.
Previously, PH and PAS declined to dissolve the assemblies for simultaneous state and parliamentary elections in the 15th general election on Nov 19. All six states must hold their elections by September.
Source: FMT
