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PETALING JAYA: As the general election fever begins to take hold, all eyes are now focused on which electoral seats are the best, which party will win, and which politician will be on the A-list of the president of the winning party.
With growing speculation that elections can be held this year, MPs and state assemblymen have been searching for their best option for success, whether that’s sleeping with the enemy or trying to buy the trust of their president.
Political analyst Kenneth Cheng said they are to be expected to stab each other in the back, as the ruling Perikatan Nasional coalition has only a small majority in the Dewan Rakyat.
“Either side only needs to woo one or two MPs to have a majority. If the current government were strong, this would not happen, ”he said.
Cheng said the betrayals are also due to the seat negotiations between PPBM, PAS and Umno, noting that the seat negotiations may fail as they disagree on the seats that can be won.
“With several deputies from Umno defecting to PPBM, Umno will say that these are our seats, but PPBM will say that the deputy is now with us.”
Awang Azman Pawi from Universiti Malaya said elections can be held before August to avoid the possibility of having general elections before the new voting age of 18 comes into effect.
He said that the political conflict between PPBM and Umno is escalating after Umno’s decision to work only with the ruling coalition until Parliament is dissolved.
Several political experts have said the conviction of Umno’s bigwigs facing corruption charges is likely following the declaration of a state of emergency in January. The six top Umno leaders facing trials are Najib Razak, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, Ahmad Maslan, Tengku Adnan Mansor, Azeez Abdul Rahim and Bung Moktar Radin.
Awang Azman said PPBM may feel it has room to woo the Umno MPs once the Umno leaders are convicted. “The prime minister could instruct PAS to act as a peacemaker for Umno to work with them.”
We don’t know who to trust
A veteran MP who wanted to remain anonymous told the FMT that party members don’t know who to trust after last year’s Sheraton Move, which resulted in the collapse of Pakatan Harapan and the rise to power of Perikatan Nasional.
“Some may pledge their support for the party and the president, but they may be giving information to another party,” he said.
He said that before the Sheraton Move took place, politicians could stab their colleagues in the back as a way to secure a better seat, but there was less fear of betraying their party.
“We didn’t have to worry about our top secrets leaking elsewhere, but now we don’t know how the information will be manipulated,” he added. MPs can have a double deal with other parties to get a better seat and at the same time try to be on the good books of the president.
As political parties prepare for GE15, the veteran MP said they are removing the “good from the bad by tracing MPs’ journey from GE14,” but since Malaysia has no anti-jump laws, the issue of loyalty remains. being subjective for some.
“For us, loyalty is not bought in one or two days, it is a journey. At this point we hope to have listed the right people for the next elections, ”said the deputy.
So far, his coalition has listed its electoral candidates based on several key indicators, such as loyalty, level of education, performance, and grassroots support.
A PH strategist told the FMT that there are desperate people who are willing to do anything and will continue to try to take advantage of the fragmentation and fluidity within political parties. He added that more elected representatives are likely to be offered money and positions to switch parties.
