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PETALING JAYA: Amanah and DAP will suffer greatly if PKR President Anwar Ibrahim forms a government with the backing of Umno MPs, according to analysts.
Speaking to the FMT, Mohd Izani Mohd Zain of Universiti Putra Malaysia and Kamarul Zaman Yusoff of Universiti Utara Malaysia said the two parties risked alienating their supporters by working with Umno, a party they have demonized.
“Umno and DAP are like water and oil; they just can’t mix, ”Kamarul said, adding that it would make no difference if Umno MPs who support Anwar do not include those facing trial.
Anwar announced last week that he had the numbers to form a new government, but has yet to reveal the names of the MPs who have pledged to support him.
Umno President Ahmad Zahid Hamidi appeared to confirm Anwar’s claim when he said that many MPs from his party were backing the PKR chief’s candidacy to become prime minister.
DAP Supreme Lim Kit Siang has said that Anwar had assured him that no deals would be made with controversial figures in Umno.
This might not make a difference, according to Kamarul, who said that any form of working relationship with Umno could cause DAP and Amanah to lose non-Malaysian votes in the next general election.
He added that PKR could benefit from Malaysian votes if Anwar’s plan materializes, but it would lose the support of those who used to believe in the party’s plan to rid the country of kleptocrats.
Izani said that all three Pakatan Harapan parties would be criticized if they worked with personalities from Umno, although the reality was that PKR needed the support of the Malays to be successful.
“They will face support issues in the 15th general election,” he said. “Amanah will end up being the weakest part. The match will become irrelevant if Anwar can get the support of the Malays through Umno. “
But James Chin of the Asia Institute at the University of Tasmania takes a different view, saying that Pakatan Harapan would still receive support from non-Malays, as the only alternative would be the Malay-centered Perikatan Nasional.
“Of course, PKR would win the most since Anwar would be prime minister,” he said.
Chin said DAP would likely get fewer key ministerial posts, if any, because Anwar has indicated that the new government will be a Malay majority government.
“But I think DAP will go along with Anwar’s plan because the party would like to get back into government and try to bring some change,” he said.
He added that Amanah would benefit from access to government resources and would likely still get votes from so-called progressives.
