THE proposed “grand coalition” comprising Perikatan Nasional (PN), Barisan Nasional (BN) and Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) will fail because every component party has its own political agenda, said political analysts.

They told The Malaysian Insight that the coalition will not work as there is no common agenda or ideology to bind the component parties.

“Every component party has its own agenda and will be in conflict with one another,” said Dr Azmil Tayeb of Universiti Sains Malaysia.

The senior lecturer with USM’s school of social sciences said the idea was simply a desperate attempt by PN to stay in power.

Pakatan Harapan (PH) comprising PKR, DAP and Amanah was formed with several shared objectives, such as to eradicate corruption, promote good governance and uphold justice.

Bersatu was part of PH before it decided to leave the coalition earlier this year to work with BN, PAS and parties from Sabah and Sarawak.

PN was established following the collapse of PH in February but to date, signs of discontent among component parties, especially between Umno and Bersatu, have become clearer.

Recently, Perak Umno assemblyman Aznel Ibrahim submitted a motion of no confidence against former menteri besar Ahmad Faizal Azumu, who is also Bersatu deputy president. The majority of Perak assemblymen voted against Faizal and the Chenderiang rep was forced to resign as MB.

Azmil said for starters, there will be lots of discontent when it comes to seat distribution ahead of the 15th general election.

“How does this so-called grand coalition prepare and agree on seat distribution and election strategy for GE15?

Hard to find common ground

“The only thing that can keep this grand coalition together is the patronage of the PN government but that is also not sustainable. This proposed grand coalition is destined for failure,” Azmil added.

Bersatu secretary-general Hamzah Zainudin urged PN, BN and GPS to form a grand coalition to ensure victory in the next election and continue to rule the federal government. He proposed that this idea be formally created to symbolise the union of all three major coalitions.

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia senior lecturer Dr Mazlan Ali, mirrored Azmil’s sentiment saying it would be hard for Umno to accept such a coalition.

“On paper, the idea is good but to implement it would be hard and tricky. The problem is Umno. If Umno wants such cooperation, it would have accepted the offer when PN was formed.

“But until today, we see there are problems and complaints from Umno leaders. They want to lead because they have the biggest number of seats and is the most senior party.

“The issue will be on seat allocation and positions in government be it at the state or the federal level. It will not be easy to find common ground. It is a slim chance that they can agree on this matter,” Mazlan said.

Before the formation of PN, Umno and PAS had signed an agreement to cooperate politically under the Muafakat Nasional (MN) charter.

Their aim was to establish a Malay-Muslim dominant government but as soon as PN was created, PAS seemed to prefer working with the Muhyiddin Yassin-led government rather than Umno.

This has irked several Umno leaders, including former Johor menteri besar Mohamed Khalid Nordin who asked PAS to choose between PN or MN.

James Chin of the University of Tasmania’s Asia Institute, on the other hand, said GPS would never agree to such an idea as the party would be accused of being under the control of Peninsular Malaysia parties.

He said MCA and MIC would also disagree as both parties are currently not happy with PN.

“GPS’ political idea is and has always been ‘Sarawak First’.

“If they agree, they will be accused of being under the control of parties from Peninsular Malaysia. MCA and MIC, too, are not happy because they feel that they are being marginalised under PN.

“This whole idea is to keep Bersatu in power, which will not make Umno happy,” Chin said.

Umno cannot think it’s the big brother

Universiti Utara Malaysia’s Ahmad Marthada Mohamed said Umno must first get rid of its big-brother mentality if the grand coalition is to succeed.

He said other parties must also be ready to give up their own political agenda for a united cause.

“Umno cannot think it is the big brother. Umno is no longer the big brother and cannot act as if they are. This mentality will not work well in a grand coalition.

“Each political party must let go of their own agenda. PAS, for instance, must at least for now, let go of its Islamist agenda and Umno of its Malay agenda.

“It is the only way they can work together in a grand coalition that has numerous political beliefs,” Chin said. – December 13, 2020.