THE opposition must regroup and come together under one umbrella if it hopes to do well in the general election, Amanah leaders said.

They told The Malaysian Insight that being in a single pact would enable the opposition pact to attract Malay voters.

The one-umbrella strategy had worked for the opposition in the last general election, they said.

Amanah vice-president Adly Zahari said the parties must come under “one big tent”.

“I don’t think of a big tent in the context of Pakatan Harapan but a big tent in the context of the opposition in the country. Only then can we convince the people that we can steer Malaysia forward,” he said.

“To me, in GE15, the people will choose the group that is the most united.

“Whoever is more united will be accepted by the people; the important thing is to bring Malaysia forward and build a common understanding.”

The former Malacca chief minister said each opposition party had its strengths that could be utilised to win.

“To strengthen the support of the Malays, there must be cooperation among the opposition parties to face Barisan Nasional.

“There are Malay-based political parties (in the opposition) such as Pejuang. There is also Islam-based Amanah, DAP upholds the spirit of democracy, and PKR is multi-racial.

“Combined, we will have all the advantages,” said Adly.

The Bukit Katil assemblyman said  Amanah could be the choice of Malays if it could unify the opposition.

“We see the opposition parties in Malaysia are divided. For the future, the opposition must be united.

“Barisan Nasional will remain in control as long as the opposition is divided; it is one of BN’s strategies to always try to divide the opposition to stay to power,” he said.

“This is why BN continues to govern when actually the party does not have real strength.

The PH pact consists of PKR, DAP, Amanah and Upko. Other opposition parties include Warisan, Pejuang and Muda. A few small parties are based in Sabah and Sarawak.

Perikatan Nasional is the ruling coalition made up of Bersatu, PAS and Gerakan. Gabungan Parti Sarawak, which is made up of four parties, is PN friendly.

 Barisan Nasional consists of Umno, MCA, MIC and Sabah-based PBRS.

A post-GE14 study conducted by Merdeka Center found PH had 25-30% of the Malay vote, which had enabled them to form a government and defeat BN.

At the time, BN and Umno lost about 20% of the Malays they obtained in GE13.

However, after Bersatu left PH and formed the PN with PAS, the new coalition took the Malays support with them.

The results of the Malacca state election last month showed that PH failed to sustain the Malay support they received in GE14.

The opposition got only 14.3% of Malay support compared to 27.3% in GE14.

Amanah president Mohamad Sabu said the quick fall of the PH government was one of the factors that made it difficult for it to gain the trust of Malays.

“That’s because we didn’t manage to complete one term,” he said, adding that PH could have overcome the opposition if it had remained in power.

He cited the example of Penang which saw regular protests from Umno when the state was first taken over by PH, but eventually all protests had died down.

“During DAP’s first term, there were demonstrations, Malay issues and so on.

“During the second term, there were no more protests, only memorandums were sent, and in this the third term, the opposition died,” he said.

He said PH should also make Malay voters aware that integrity and transparency are important and should be given priority over narrow issues of race and religion.

Malay vote

Amanah youth deputy chief Muhammad Faiz Fadzil said Malay parties such as PAS and Bersatu that had joined PH and left the coalition had affected the performance of the opposition in the election.

“In 2008 to 2013 we had PAS, but when PAS left Pakatan Rakyat, we lost a large part of the core Malay vote, but this was reversed by Bersatu in 2018, which let us win the general election.

“However, after Bersatu left PH, the Malay votes declined,” said Faiz.

Faiz blamed PAS and Umno’s religious and racial politics for Amanah’s failure to win the hearts of Malay voters.

He said Amanah wishes to win Malay voters with politics of integrity and values instead of with religious and racial slogans.

“If we just want to get the support of the Malays, by playing on racist sentiments, and playing on issues that can cause hatred among the people, that is not an honest political agenda.

“We want to bring the people forward. Islam is the core of Amanah, of course the issue of Islam involves the Malays, but we hold on to politics of values, honesty,” he said.

The Permatang Pasir assemblyman believes the oppposition can win over the community support for Umno and PAS.

“If there is a bigger coalition involving Malay figures, for example, it can increase Malay support for the opposition and Amanah itself,” said Faiz.

However, he said, the burden of getting Malay support should not be placed on the shoulders of Amanah alone.

“It is true that the Malay vote has been the focus of Amanah all this while and is a matter that is often discussed in the party, but getting the support of the Malay vote should not only be on the shoulders of Amanah, but on the whole of PH in fact,” added Faiz.

Amanah also needs to re-evaluate its approach to become more accessible to young people, he added.

“I am confident that the majority are mostly young Malays who can provide a turning point in the next general election.

“We understand that these young people are undecided on which party they should follow; this is the best opportunity for Amanah to get young Malay votes.” –  December 31, 2021.