Veteran journalist A Kadir Jasin has warned that internal clashes could emerge among the new political alliances contesting the upcoming Melaka state election.
He said Barisan Nasional (BN) and Perikatan Nasional (PN) had joined forces, while Pakatan Harapan (PH) had also reached an electoral understanding with Bersatu.
Kadir, a national journalism laureate, said PAS, which leads PN, was working with Umno with the ultimate aim of becoming the dominant Malay party.
He described Umno as an ageing party looking for a willing partner.
“PAS is like an ageing suitor who doesn’t mind prancing with an ageing partner,” he said in a Facebook post about the Melaka election.
Questions over new political alliances
Kadir also pointed out that PH and Bersatu were working together again, despite Bersatu being one of the main reasons for the collapse of the PH-led federal government in 2020.
“I wonder if PAS and Umno’s big dreams and even bigger talk of ‘Malay unity’, and PH-Bersatu’s ‘Melaka Rumah Kita’, will build a new ‘Kota Melaka’ or crumble like a sand castle on the Tanjong Bidara beach.
“But this dance between these new-found allies could turn out to be inter-pack aggression among hungry, desperate wolves,” he said.
Seat distribution ahead of polling day
PH is contesting 24 seats in the Melaka election, while its electoral partner Bersatu is vying for seven seats. The two parties are set to clash in three constituencies.
BN, meanwhile, has fielded 23 candidates, while PN will contest the remaining five seats.
At the federal level, PH and BN are partners in the government, while Bersatu remains part of PN, an opposition coalition.
A total of 687,697 voters are eligible to cast their ballots in Melaka. Polling day has been set for Nov 14, with early voting scheduled for Nov 10.
