MUHYIDDIN Yassin is a unifying force, and parties that make up the government have a better chance of victory in the next election if they contest as a coalition, said an academic today.

Prof Azizuddin Sani of Universiti Utara Malaysia said the prime minister and Bersatu president has become popular, and is largely seen as the best person to lead the country instead of someone from Umno.

His government’s success in managing  the Covid-19 pandemic has made him more popular than Bersatu itself, Azizuddin said.

“Muhyiddin is very popular and many think that he should lead the coalition. Why need somebody from Umno?” he said in the webinar, Covid-19 and Malaysia’s Political Impasse.

“In fact PAS is also receptive to the idea of Muhyiddin Yassin (leading them) to next elections.

“Muhyiddin can be seen as a unifying force within PN,” he added.

He said this should be discussed among Perikatan Nasional members and the coalition has a better chance of winning the next election if they compromise and work together.

“PN knows that they can win the elections but their only concern is the arrangement that they have to form.”

He said members of the coalition were debating the political arrangement, particularly within Umno.

He said there were two factions within Umno, one in favour of collaborating with Bersatu while the other wanting to leave PN and collaborate only with PAS under the Muafakat Nasional banner.

However, Muafakat Nasional cannot win the elections on its own, Azizuddin said.

“Bersatu wants to be dominant, but Umno has the strength,” he said.

He said even if  Umno may not want to be a part of PN, it does not mean that the two parties cannot work together.

As for former PKR deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali’s faction, he said, they were likely to stick with Bersatu instead of going on to form a new party.

As for Pakatan Harapan, he said they too have to strengthen their position by forming alliance with Sabah-based parties, like Warisan, and Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s new party. 

PH, which has the support of urban folk, should work towards appealing to Malays. 

Besides that, he said, they should also look at attracting youth voters by fielding young candidates.

The kingmaker

Azizuddin also said Dr Mahathir new party that was announced yesterday could be the third force that could become the “kingmaker”.

He said the yet-to-be named party was going to be the third force similar to Gagasan Sejahtera, an informal coalition of opposition Islamist political parties led by PAS in the last general election.

He said there was likely to be a three-cornered fights between the former prime minister’s party and the Malay parties in Perikatan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan.

“As the third strongest party, Dr Mahathir’s party will become a kingmaker in deciding who will form the government,” he said in the webinar.

“I think that is basically the idea behind the establishment of this party,” he said.

He said the nation’s longest serving prime minister and his colleagues cannot be disregarded as they have a huge support from the business community.

As a seasoned leader, the 95-year-old will also have many strategies to penetrate the political scene, he said.

Dr Mahathir yesterday announced the formation of a new Malay party to take on the PN government.

The name of the party has not been decided yet and they will wait for the approval of the Registrar of Societies, he said.

The Langkawi MP said this new party was necessary as all other Malay parties have deviated from the original struggle. – August 8, 2020.