The deregistration of Perikatan Nasional (PN) will test whether Gerakan and the Malaysian Indian People’s Party (MIPP) can attract support independently or must continue relying on their coalition partners, says a political analyst.
Anbumani Balan said the loss of the PN platform would force both parties to assess their ability to win votes on their own.
He said the two parties were expected to help PN broaden its support among non-Malay voters, but their effectiveness had come into question following the latest election results in Johor and Negeri Sembilan, where neither party won any seats for the coalition.
‘This is the time to judge political truth by the reality of votes, not perceptions, rhetoric or positions in a coalition,’ he told FMT.
‘If their own strength cannot be proven, a place in a coalition is merely borrowed political standing, not proof of public support.’
Gerakan and MIPP’s electoral performance
Gerakan previously held elected seats, but its electoral fortunes have declined sharply over the past two decades. It now has only one elected representative, Kulim assemblyman Wong Chia Zhen in Kedah.
Meanwhile, MIPP failed to win any of the five seats it contested in its Johor electoral debut this year. All five of its candidates also lost their deposits.
The Registrar of Societies (RoS) deregistered PN on Tuesday after finding that the coalition’s explanation had failed to rebut the grounds stated in an earlier notice.
The RoS acted on a complaint by Bersatu, which alleged that it had been denied the right to attend, speak and vote at a PN Supreme Council meeting on July 16.
PN secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan was reported as saying that the coalition would challenge the deregistration and seek a stay of its implementation.
Parties could explore new alliances
However, International Islamic University Malaysia academic Lau Zhe Wei said the deregistration was unlikely to bring about drastic changes to the political landscape, as PN’s component parties could still form new partnerships.
He said the more pressing questions were what form such cooperation would take and which logo the parties would use in elections, including the upcoming Melaka polls.
Lau said Gerakan and MIPP had so far shown a tendency to remain aligned with PAS. They could contest under the PAS or Wawasan logo if they did not want to use their own.
‘If they are truly intent on being with PAS, they can do so at any time,’ he said.
Melaka will go to the polls on Nov 14, with nomination scheduled for Oct 31 and early voting on Nov 10.
