Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) options for expanding its “big tent” remain limited, as few political partners can match Barisan Nasional’s (BN) ability to attract Malay voters, analysts say.
Azmi Hassan of Akademi Nusantara said PH was aware that it still needed Umno because the party retained an ability to attract Malay voters whom PH struggled to reach on its own.
He said Amanah secretary-general Faiz Fadzil’s proposal to expand the “big tent” could be interpreted as a signal to Umno that PH had other options.
However, Azmi said those alternatives were limited, with Bersatu among the parties that could potentially help PH gain some Malay support, although its strength remained no match for Umno or BN.
“Bersatu’s performance in Johor and Negeri Sembilan also shows that the party’s influence in attracting Malay voters remains limited,” he told FMT.
PH faces limited options for new partners
Faiz had previously said PH needed to expand its “big tent” concept by seeking new political partners if there were changes in the political relationship between Umno and Perikatan Nasional.
BN and PH, together with several other parties, formed the unity government after the 15th general election resulted in a hung Parliament, while PN became the opposition.
The two coalitions also worked together in six state elections in 2023, as well as subsequent by-elections.
However, BN contested the Johor state election on July 11 on its own and reached an understanding with PN in the Aug 1 Negeri Sembilan election to contest against PH.
Smaller parties may not strengthen PH enough
Syaza Shukri of Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia said Faiz’s proposal also raised questions over which parties could genuinely strengthen PH.
She said cooperation with smaller parties such as Muda and Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) might not be sufficient to make PH more competitive.
“Bringing Bersatu into the fold, meanwhile, could face resistance from the coalition’s supporters,” she said.
However, Mazlan Ali of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia believed PH still had room to expand cooperation with other Malay parties to increase its support among Malay voters.
PH could look beyond Umno
Mazlan said PH should not rely solely on Umno and could consider working with Bersatu, Putra or Berjasa.
“Such cooperation would not necessarily cause PH to lose its identity because the coalition had previously been in an alliance with Bersatu in GE14 before forming the federal government in 2018,” he said.
