Stiff fight expected for Malay vote, forum told

KUALA LUMPUR: National Council of Professors (MPN) deputy chairman Shamsul Amri Baharuddin warns of a tough fight for the Malay vote in the coming election (GE14), saying the party with the strongest work plan at the grassroots level will win.

He said of the four parties fighting for the Malay vote – Umno, PAS, Amanah and PPBM – only Umno and PAS had strong grassroots.

“It is critical for any party to have good ground work, workers or supporters who campaign at the grassroots level as no matter how great a leader is, without grassroots support, it will be difficult for him to get the votes.

“This is because those at the grassroots level can do the campaigning work and be close to the voters. This is an important role in determining the votes,” he said in a session at the pre-GE14 “Roundtable Discussion: Will BN Be Retained Or….” here yesterday.

The session, titled “BN vs PH vs PAS: Who Wins, Who Determines”, was moderated by first assistant chief editor of Utusan Malaysia Zaini Hassan. Panellists included PPBM information chief Kamarudin Md Nor and PAS head of research Mohd Zuhdi Marzuki.

Kamarudin said the struggle for the Malay vote in GE14 would be tougher than that of previous general elections due to the new modes of information technology and media.

Previously, he said, voters could be categorised as urban or rural. However, today’s voters had access to the same information within a short span of time.

“The people today are not the same as those in the 60s or 70s. Whether they are rural or urban, modern technology gives them access to the latest information, so rural folks may have the same thinking as those in urban areas.

“The issue now is whether the Malays are prepared to change because many studies done by analysts claim that the Malays, especially those in the rural areas, are not ready to take the risk,” he said.

Zuhdi said Malay NGOs would play an important role in determining the direction of Malay votes, creating a “Malay tsunami” in the coming general election.

He said a similar scenario was seen in 2013 where the Chinese NGOs determined the votes, adding that a repeat of this was expected for the Malay community in GE14.

The round-table discussion was organised by MPN to discuss national and local issues pertaining to GE14, look at voting trends and assess the chances of Barisan Nasional, Pakatan Harapan and PAS. -FMT