AN analyst has advised DAP to relinquish efforts to woo Malay voters and instead let the UMNO garner their support for a potential unity government.
Akademi Nusantara’s Prof Dr Azmi Hassan emphasised DAP’s acknowledgment of its inability to secure sufficient Malay votes for a coalition government without UMNO’s backing.
“Let UMNO win over Malay voters, even if it means criticising DAP. It’s not UMNO’s responsibility to cater to non-Malay voters. Unlike non-Malays, who do not have many other parties they can vote for, Malay voters have attractive alternatives.
“If UMNO appears weak and unable to handle DAP, voters may turn to Perikatan Nasional (PN). This has already happened,” Free Malaysia Today quoted him as saying.
This advice follows a caution from Raub MP Chow Yu Hui to UMNO regarding potential alienation of non-Malay voters due to its conservative stance.
Chow’s concern arose after UMNO opposed a proposal to designate Selangor’s Chinese New Villages as world heritage sites, a move perceived as unfavorable to non-Malay voters especially DAP members.
Council of Professors fellow Jeniri Amir noted the ethnicity-oriented survival strategies of both DAP and UMNO. He highlighted DAP’s advocacy for Chinese community issues and UMNO’s defence of Malay interests.
“DAP members advocate strongly for issues concerning the Chinese community, including cultural, linguistic, educational and economic matters. Similar to UMNO, they defend themselves when the interests of the Chinese community are threatened, without considering the sentiments of Malays,” he said.
As an example, he cited a suggestion by DAP’s Ngeh Koo Ham that non-Muslim constitutional experts be appointed to a shariah law committee.
Moreover, on the possibility of non-Malay voters abandoning UMNO due to its focus on Malay interests, political analyst Dr Mazlan Ali downplayed concerns citing UMNO’s historical support from non-Malay voters.
He claimed that UMNO traditionally considered a “tolerant” Malay party, would not have been able to govern for six decades prior to 2018 without the support of non-Malay voters.
Mazlan also attributed UMNO’s past setbacks not to conservatism but to corruption scandals within its leadership.
“UMNO’s downfall was not due to it being a conservative party, but rather the corruption scandals its leadership was involved in.” – Feb 21, 2024
