Syaza Shukri of the International Islamic University Malaysia said the initiative may be futile without firm commitment from party leaders to discuss it seriously.
“In my view, the main challenge now is getting these party leaders to come together and discuss the structure of such a coalition,” she told FMT when commenting on the proposal announced by Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi yesterday.
Zahid acknowledged that certain parties had already been courting Umno for closer cooperation. He said he was openly prepared to accept this, provided it did not disrupt the stability of the unity government.
Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad had launched a “Malay secretariat committee” under a “big tent” concept last June to restore the community’s influence in government. But there has been little progress to date and this initiative was not embraced by Umno.
Zahid, at the Umno general assembly on Friday, dismissed the “big tent” approach, saying it had failed to materialise as Umno was not involved. He also said his party was in a better position to unite the Malays.
Syaza raised several questions that could pose challenges for party leaders contemplating joining the new grand coalition.
She said that within Perikatan Nasional (PN), relations among component parties are strained. This could see Umno becoming dominant even though PAS holds more parliamentary seats.
“Won’t disputes like those between PAS and Bersatu emerge (under Zahid’s proposed grand coalition)?”
She also pointed to the dilemma Umno would face in managing its Barisan Nasional (BN) component partners.
“What will happen to MCA and MIC then?”
Tawfik Yaakub of Universiti Malaya, however, said Umno’s proposal appeared to be strategic rather than driven by emotional decision-making.
He said that as a component party of the unity government, Umno enjoyed advantages in terms of financial resources and party machinery.
“This could help realise a grand coalition and provide the political strength needed to face the 16th general election.
“However, Umno and BN must also consider new dimensions of influence and support, which should not necessarily be limited to traditional voters,” he said.