On the other hand, if it is forced to team up with Pakatan Harapan (PH) to form the government again, BN lynchpin Umno will likely maintain cordial ties with PKR and Amanah, but will remain openly unfriendly with the DAP, Azmi Hassan of Akademi Nusantara told FMT.
PKR, DAP and Amanah are partners in PH. PH and BN are allies in the unity government, together with Gagasan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS).
“This means Umno and DAP will end up as begrudging partners, much like the relationship between BN and GRS now,” Azmi said.
He was referring to the GRS-BN alliance that was hammered out after the Nov 29 Sabah election that left GRS just short of a simple majority despite garnering the highest number of seats.
GRS and BN had gone into the polls as rivals but separately as partners of PH. However, PH managed to win only one seat, dashing hopes of it playing a major role in Sabah politics. Umno’s support enabled GRS chairman Hajiji Noor to remain as chief minister.
Nonetheless, a 2023 bid by Sabah Umno to unseat Hajiji is still fresh in the mind for many GRS supporters.
Azmi’s comments come in the wake of the open support from several DAP leaders for the high court’s decision to throw out Najib’s application to serve the remaining years of his sentence for corruption in the SRC International case under house arrest.
Puchong MP Yeo Bee Yin bore the brunt of the backlash for her coments that the ruling was “another reason to celebrate this year end”. In response, Umno secretary-general Asyraf Wajdi Dusuki said it might be time for Umno to review its cooperation with DAP.
Azmi said the decision against Najib will become a powerful mobilisation tool for Umno to woo its core voters, which is what he believes the party is doing currently.
“Umno is trying to galvanise its grassroots by portraying Najib as a victim after the judgment,” he said, adding that DAP was doing the same with its urban supporters through its leaders’ reaction to the court’s decision.
It’s only political theatre
However, Syaza Shukri of the International Islamic University Malaysia has a contrarian view.
She said both Umno and DAP are just riling up each other’s supporters, but they still need each other. “It’s just political theatre,” she told FMT.
She expects the kerfuffle over Najib to pass, just like other issues that saw Umno and DAP leaders locking horns in the past three years, including the sale of socks bearing the word “Allah”.
Meanwhile, Sivamurugan Pandian of Universiti Sains Malaysia said DAP is “stuck between a rock and a hard place” as it seeks to retain its core supporters while trying to expand its Malay support.
“By celebrating (the court ruling), DAP angers Umno. If it dials it down, it will appear to have no real influence over its core supporters,” he said.
He agrees that Yeo and other DAP leaders risk alienating the Malay voters and Malay parties with their messaging. “Repeating these statements can also damage inter-party relations,” he told FMT.
“There has to be a line,” he said. “Statements made by DAP leaders reflect the party as a whole. They should leave it to top leaders to manage differences.”