PETALING JAYA: The upcoming state polls will be a litmus test for Muda’s strength as a party, as it is set to take on more established coalitions including former ally Pakatan Harapan, say analysts.
Political pundits also said that the party led by former youth and sports minister Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman may not see an easy win in the Aug 12 state polls.
“Muda is new, and will be contesting against established coalitions. It won’t be easy for it to win any seats in the upcoming state elections,” said Dr Tunku Mohar Tunku Mohd Mokhtar, a political analyst at the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM).
The upcoming elections will see the real strength of the party. It may be an avenue for protest votes, but these alone won’t be enough for it to win a seat. It may, however, get some votes from voters who are disillusioned with Pakatan,” he added.
Tunku Mohar said Muda would not be able to survive without Pakatan’s support, adding that the two have similar agendas.
“Muda’s appeal would be to those voters who want reforms to be instituted without delay,” he said.
Principal adviser at the Pacific Research Center of Malaysia and Senior Fellow at the Singapore Institute of International Affairs said while the battle for seats may be hotly contested between Perikatan Nasional and Pakatan, Muda may divert some votes away from Pakatan.
He said although the volume of votes split is likely to be small, it may cost Pakatan its seats, adding that this is also a reason for the coalition to be concerned over Muda contesting solo.
“They (Muda) are likely to attract a smidgeon of votes, but perhaps not enough to win them seats or even to keep their deposits,” he said.
Asked whether Muda could survive without Pakatan, Oh said it is quite unlikely.
“But they would like to be their own boss and not necessarily bow to Pakatan’s party line or be absorbed into PKR or DAP,” he said.
Universiti Sains Malaysia senior lecturer Dr Azmil Mohd Tayeb said Muda has a chance to become a third force by giving disgruntled Pakatan supporters an alternative party to vote for.
“By doing that, Muda has the capacity to split votes among PH supporters. Muda to Pakatan is like Perikatan to Umno,” he said.
Syed Saddiq said last month that the decision to contest solo in the state polls was to be “the voice of conscience of the people”.
The party is looking to contest less than 10% of the state seats.
In GE15 and the Johor state polls in 2022, Muda contested in alliance with Pakatan.
Out of the six seats contested by the party in GE15, it only managed to secure the Muar parliamentary seat, with Syed Saddiq defending the seat for the second term.
