PAKATAN Harapan (PH) is in danger of losing the state polls and it will not be due to the “green wave” but because Malay voters are genuinely discontented with the Anwar Ibrahim administration, Khairy Jamaluddin said. 

The “green wave” refers to PAS’ party colours and what some analysts have described as a possible rise of a more extremist form of political Islam. 

Khairy, the former Umno MP for Rembau, said what is happening in Malaysia today is less the rise of an extremist “green wave” than the expression of genuine discontent by the Malay community that goes beyond the 3R (race, religion and royalty) issues. 

“What we may see at the state polls is less of a green wave than a tsunami of discontent,” he wrote in an article on Singapore portal Fulcrum. 

Fulcrum is a portal for the think tank ISEAS-Yusof Ishak Institute, of which Khairy is a visiting senior fellow. 

He said apart from the myriad external and internal threats the fragile unity government faced, there had been a clear lack of economic direction in the last seven months. 

“The Malaysian ringgit continues to weaken and the cost-of-living crisis continues to erode the people’s purchasing power.” 

He added the palpable Malay anger is amplified by the perceived hypocrisy of the present administration, which talks about eradicating corruption and upholding good governance but accommodates a tainted Umno leadership. 

The spotlight of the elections in the six states would be on the Malay electorate – a segment of voters, Khairy said, of vital importance to Anwar’s seven-month-old federal unity government. 

In the general elections, PH secured a meagre 11% of the Malay votes. 

“He needs to make solid gains on this count during the state polls. The state polls are being framed as an early referendum on his premiership,” Khairy said. 

But the two perils Anwar faced are an almost fatal internal flaw in PH as well as a formidable external threat. 

He said from within his unity government, “Anwar has to carry with him the liability that is Umno and its unpopular leader, Zahid Hamidi”. 

Zahid is facing 47 counts of money laundering and criminal breach of trust involving millions of ringgit from Yayasan Akalbudi, and is also charged for accepting bribes for various projects during his tenure as the home minister between 2013 and 2018. 

“Umno was initially seen as a complement to PH. It was seen as potentially leading the charge into Malay majority strongholds,” Khairy said. 

“That now looks less likely, as Umno continues to struggle to explain to its members why it is part of a government that includes its long-time ideological bogeyman, the Democratic Action Party.” 

“Are there any indications that Anwar’s tactical moves to reclaim Malay support are working?” he asked. 

He pointed to an April survey that in Peninsular Malaysia, Anwar’s approval rating across ethnic groups was 62% but his approval rating among Malay respondents had fallen to 54%. 

“While 62% of Malaysians surveyed said their view of Anwar’s leadership had improved, slightly more than half of Malay respondents agreed.” 

He also pointed out that recent Perikatan Nasional (PN) rallies in the PH strongholds of Selangor and Negri Sembilan have seen unprecedented, but almost exclusively Malay crowds showing up. 

“Unlike the rise of PAS in the 1980s and 1990s, PN’s popularity today has more dimensions than merely increased religiosity among Malays,” Khairy added. – June 20, 2023.