THE results of the 14th general election could potentially lead to greater conflicts over race and religious issues, as the new opposition now consists mainly of Malay-Muslim parties, said political analyst Dr Denison Jayasooria.

While the new Pakatan Harapan government may be more multiracial, the opposition dominated by Umno and PAS is set to create a divide between the more traditional and conservative Malaysians, and the more liberal ones.

“One of the reasons for this stems from the fact that the opposition, Umno and PAS, have not moved away from race and religious issues,” said Denison, from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM).

Speaking at the International Islamic University Malaysia’s workshop on the 14th general election today, Denison said that Umno, in particular, had not come out of the “race and religion” trap, citing the party’s reaction to Finance Minister Lim Guan Eng’s Mandarin statement issue earlier this week.

Denison said that PAS, too, could not be dismissed as it had won 18 seats and two state governments in Kelantan and Terengganu, and had come close to deciding the governments in Perak and Kedah.

“PAS has been very consistent in its fight for a more Islamic Malaysia and the GE14 results showed an inclination for a more Islamic Malaysia in the Malay heartland,” said Denison.

“PAS could be a force in two generations,” he said.

Denison said that the threat of a greater divide between the religious hardliners and moderates was made worse by the fact that PH had no representatives in Kelantan and Terengganu.

To mitigate this imbalance, he suggested that the new government move away from a race-based approach to a need-based one.

“Most of our studies have shown that ethnicity-based quotas don’t help the poor compared to a more human rights approach,” said Denison.

He said the new government must also not get distracted by the daily issues and focus on its reforms. – June 28, 2018.