Already, the Chinese voters who flocked to the Opposition in 2013 have expressed concerns about the possibility of Islamic law being imposed in Kelantan, the stronghold of PAS, the Islamic party.
“The Opposition’s back is already broken,” said Ibrahim Suffian, an analyst at the Merdeka Center for Opinion Research in Kuala Lumpur. “Despite the scandals, there are no practical means for any political backlash to affect Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.”
“His opponents have become fragmented and ineffective in mobilizing the public through electoral means.”
The report was commenting on the fact that after failing to present a united front in the Sarawak election last month, the Opposition “were at it again” in the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-elections set for June 18.
“It will split the votes of those who disagree with the current administration,” Bloomberg quoted PAS vice-president Idris Ahmad as telling the media on Sunday in commenting on Amanah’s decision to join the race. “However, we are confident and hope that voters will support us and send a strong signal to the government.”
“They just don’t learn from past mistakes,” said Faisal S. Hazis, head of the Centre for Asia Studies at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) “People are just fed up with the bickering.”
Hazis thinks that there are only two ways to unseat Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.
One is through Umno which former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad failed to do.
Secondly, when a united, cohesive and viable Opposition coalition wins the next General Election.
The second option is not what Mahathir was willing to take, he added. After saying that Umno will not win in 2018 with Najib at the helm, he now thinks that the ruling party was not at risk in the next General Election given disunity in the Opposition.
Mahathir’s motives in teaming up with the Opposition has also been questioned by jailed de facto Opposition Chief Anwar Ibrahim.
Najib has in the meantime reached out to PAS, while tightening his grip on Umno and its divisional chiefs, and wooing ethnic Malays. PAS President Abdul Hadi Awang has responded by declaring that the party will abandon its old style politics and will not oppose for the sake of opposing. He pledged that PAS was willing to work with anyone who can help advance the principles of Islam.
In a sign of the times, the recent PAS Youth Wing’s annual general meeting saw the leaders turning up in traditional Malay costumes complete with keris – the traditional ceremonial dagger – and headgear instead of the usual Arabic robes.