With Umno still struggling for Malay votes, Zahid sows seeds for pact with PM Anwar at next GE

KUALA LUMPUR – Malaysia’s Deputy Prime Minister Zahid Hamidi said Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Harapan (PH) will continue their arrangement of not competing against each other at the next general election – a move that gives breathing space to a government facing myriad challenges.

While cementing their alliance, the BN chairman appeared to rule out the possibility of his Umno-led coalition merging with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s PH when he said it would run under its own flag at Malaysia’s 16th General Election (GE16) due by early 2028.

“The BN and PH partnership and cooperation will continue as long as they (PH) do not contest in constituencies where BN fields its candidate, and we do not contest in their areas,” Datuk Seri Zahid said on June 30 at an Umno division meeting in Maran, Pahang.

BN secretary-general Zambry Kadir told The Straits Times on July 1 that while the electoral pact had been discussed by his coalition’s leadership, a final decision has yet to be made on chairman Zahid’s proposal.

“We have not closed any possibility,” he said, when asked if PH and BN could consider using the same logo, pointing to a grand coalition that would subsume all current ruling parties, save regional ones based in Sabah and Sarawak.

The caveats are likely due to the fact that the arrangements for GE16 are not a done deal. With national polls not due for over three years, negotiations over seat allocations as well as sentiment among voters could alter the calculus.

“The current status quo gives Umno, and especially Zahid, a lot of flexibility,” strategic director Amir Fareed Rahim at political consultancy KRA told ST, referring to the electoral pact of PH and BN not contesting against each other but being given the freedom to develop their own strategies.

“Umno can continue to enjoy the perks of being in power, while continuing to figure out its place in the national political landscape, especially with GE16 still far away. Zahid can choose his own candidates and decide the thrust of the BN campaign, which is crucial, especially on Malay-facing issues,” he added.

Although Datuk Seri Anwar’s multi-coalition government – comprising once-bitter foes PH and BN, as well as a host of East Malaysian parties – has a two-thirds supermajority in Parliament, anxiety over his administration’s stability refuses to go away.

This is largely stoked by its lack of support from Malaysia’s ethnic majority. Despite Mr Anwar’s hopes that Umno would bolster Malay backing for his government, the reality is that the Malay nationalist party itself is still struggling to reverse a decade-old slide in this very area.

“The Umno-led BN has been trying to reverse its decline since 2008 when it first lost its two-thirds control of Parliament, but failed and was eventually forced out of the government a decade later,” noted independent political analyst Adib Zalkapli.

“They have tried two options – continue fighting on its own and remain on a decline, or work with PH to save its existing base and possibly negotiate with PH for some safe seats. Option one clearly did not work,” he told ST.

On the other hand, the opposition Perikatan Nasional alliance led by Parti Islam SeMalaysia (PAS) and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia has increased its share of Malay-voter support to an estimated two-thirds in the 19 months since the general election in November 2022.

This had led Mr Anwar to keep the door open for PAS to join his so-called unity government.

His invitation made in October 2023 was rejected by PAS, which controls the most seats in Parliament. But, in June, Communications Minister and government spokesman Fahmi Fadzil claimed “there are a lot of discussions” between the administration and the Islamist party.

Meanwhile, the Anwar administration is facing public anger over the removal of diesel subsidies at the pump in June, inter-ethnic strife and slow reforms.

This has exacerbated discontent over the reduction of former premier Najib Razak’s graft sentence – halved from 12 years’ jail to six, and a fine shrinking from RM210 million (S$60.4 million) to RM50 million – and Dr Zahid’s own graft prosecution being abandoned despite the court declaring a prima facie case.

Tensions between secular-leaning PH and Malay nationalist elements in Umno have also spilled into the public eye.

They have clashed over footwear bearing the word “Allah”, the gazetting of Chinese new villages, and whether bumiputera-only universities should temporarily open up specific courses to non-Malays and non-indigenous races due to urgent shortages.

At the Pahang meeting, Dr Zahid took pains to convince Umno members that the Democratic Action Party (DAP), which Umno once vilified as being anti-Islam and anti-Malay, “respects Malays and the position of Islam as enshrined in the Constitution”. The DAP provides the most number of MPs to Mr Anwar’s PH.

“The (DAP’s) secretary-general (Anthony Loke) sits on my right in Cabinet meetings. When the Prime Minister announced assistance for (Islamic education), the Bumiputera Economic Council, and assistance for villages, DAP has never objected to them. We have no issues. I respect your religion and you respect my religion,” Dr Zahid said.

The Umno chief also pointed out how the DAP was instrumental in Umno’s victory at the October 2023 Pelangai by-election in Pahang, resulting in “95 per cent of Chinese votes secured, which led to our victory”.