Dr Afif Bahardin from Bersatu (left) being congratulated by Ahmad Akhir Pawan Chik from PKR after winning by only 30 votes in Selangor’s Taman Medan seat.
IT WAS dubbed the green wave – a groundswell of political support for Perikatan Nasional that took the country by storm in the 15th General Election last year.
On Saturday, it reached Selangor, denying the Pakatan Harapan-Barisan Nasional pact its two-thirds majority in the polls, but not enough to capture the state.
Pakatan and its partner from the unity government Barisan managed a simple majority, securing 34 seats, while Perikatan claimed victory in the remaining 22 constituencies.
This figure is way below the 51 seats it had previously commanded in the State Legislative Assembly, despite its cooperation with Barisan.
In the Aug 12 polls, Perikatan proved dominant in Malay-majority seats, compared to Pakatan which did well in mixed and urban constituencies.
Out of 37 seats comprising more than half Malay voters, Perikatan triumphed in 22 compared to Pakatan-Barisan which won 15.
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia political analyst Dr Mazlan Ali attributed Pakatan’s poor showing to its rejection by Barisan supporters.
He said many supporters of Umno, a Barisan component party, were uncomfortable with the coalition’s cooperation with Pakatan, especially DAP.
He claimed that surveys in Malay-majority seats found that one-third of Umno supporters were not keen to vote for Pakatan candidates.
“The result of the Selangor polls is further proof of the rejection among Umno grassroots of the cooperation with Pakatan.
“While Pakatan supporters had no issue voting for any candidates from the Pakatan-Barisan pact, some Barisan supporters felt otherwise.
“This might have caused some Umno supporters to protest by not voting or voting for Perikatan instead,” he said.
The relatively lower turnout could be further signs of a boycott among Umno voters, said Mazlan, adding it contributed to the slim majorities seen in several seats.
Data released by the Election Commission revealed that Selangor recorded a 72% turnout on Aug 12.
Nine seats were won with fewer than 1,000 votes – two by Pakatan while seven went to Perikatan.
Among seats with low majorities were Taman Medan (30), Gombak Setia (58), Sungai Kandis (167), Dengkil (407) and Taman Templer (467).
One of the rare wins for Pakatan was the Sungai Pelek seat.
Although Malay voters comprised 56.8% of the electorate, it was won by DAP’s Lwi Kian Keong with a 1,400-vote majority.
Lwi polled 17,984 votes against Suhaimi Mohd Ghazali from Bersatu who obtained 16,526 votes and independent Nageswaran Ravi who got 230 votes.
Universiti Sains Malaysia political analyst Assoc Prof Dr Azmil Tayeb said Perikatan’s hold on the Malay-majority electorate in Selangor reflected a nationwide trend.
“There is a shift of support from Barisan to Perikatan, which is seen as the new political vehicle for the Malay-Muslim narrative,” he said.
This shift, he noted, was accelerated by Barisan’s cooperation with Pakatan, which already suffered from a trust deficit among Malays.
“Barisan and its dominant party Umno need an introspection on their political direction if they want to regain their strength.
“This had happened before, when the Malays returned to Barisan from the then Barisan Alternatif after Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi took over the leadership in 2003,” he added.
Despite the focus on Malay voters, Prof Azmil cautioned for both Pakatan-Barisan and Perikatan not to take their non-Malay voters for granted.
“Pakatan had deemed the non-Malay votes as their fixed deposit, thinking that this segment of voters had no other choice.
“Meanwhile, Perikatan, which surmised that the non-Malay votes were out of reach, had drummed up racial sentiments to maximise their gain on Malay votes.
“In multiracial Malaysia, no party can hope to govern without support and representation from all races,” he added.
