THE once-mighty Barisan Nasional (BN) is at its weakest now and needs to drop race politics to remain relevant and regain support ahead of its 50th anniversary next June, observers said.

They said the coalition – which has shrunk from 14 parties to four now after losing power in the 2018 general elections – is now riding on Pakatan Harapan to remain in power.

Dr Mazlan Ali of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia said BN has to consider itself lucky to be in power after the last general election after joining forces with former rival Pakatan Harapan.

He described BN’s election performance in 2023 as one of the worst in the coalition’s history where they only won 30 seats, with 26 coming from Umno.

“After the general election in 2008, BN continued to decline until its lowest point in 2023.

“Umno has become weaker in every election and the party has lost the Malay support. MCA and MIC didn’t do much either for the coalition. They have not been able to convince the non-Malays,” the senior lecturer said.

Mazlan, however, said BN can still remain relevant and continue to be a force should it remain in the unity government.

“It needs to change. The political line that BN is holding onto is no longer viable. A race-based party is outdated.

“DAP in PH is getting the backing of non-Malays and some segments of Malays because it has Malay faces as representatives.

“PKR have both the Chinese and Indians, while MCA and MIC have lost the support of the non-Malays.

“Umno managed to win Pelangai in the recent by-election because of the non-Malays who continued to show their support for the unity government.

“What can MCA and MIC do? They need to formulate a new political strategy, they have to be creative, they can’t rely on the Chinese and Indians anymore. They need the support of everyone,” he said.

In the case of Umno, Mazlan said the Malay party was still able to draw the support of some Malay voters, especially in rural areas despite losing often to Perikatan Nasional lately.

“You cannot compare Umno with MCA and MIC. Umno still receives the support of some Malay voters and with their position in the government today, they can increase their support again if they do their jobs the right way,” he added.

Agreeing with Mazlan is Hisomuddin Bakar of Ilham Centre.

The political observer said BN has lost most of its influence since the 2008 elections.

He also alluded that Umno’s overwhelming control in the pact was not helping its cause, especially with the other partners feeling left out.

At the moment, only Umno is represented in the federal government with MIC, MCA and United Sabah People’s Party (PBRS) left out.

In recent weeks, MCA had suggested that it would leave BN and embark on its solo political journey. MIC too is expected to discuss its political future in its coming annual assembly.

“Umno in the government had prompted the MCA president to say that they are willing to go solo in the future. MCA is more or less disappointed with Umno.

“And that itself shows that BN is getting weaker. It will be a big problem if they do not address their internal issues,” he said.

In August, BN chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said BN has to take a more aggressive stance in quickly restoring the people’s confidence through its coalition of parties.

Acknowledging that BN was facing rejection from the people, the Umno president said it was not impossible for BN to regain the trust of the people, especially the Malay community.

He also admitted that cooperation with PH was considered the best way to restore the coalition’s image.

BN was formed on January 1, 1973 after the national political revamp following the May 13, 1969 race riots. However, it was only legalised as a party on June 1, 1974. – November 3, 2023.