The Negeri Sembilan state election campaign is under way. Following nomination day, Barisan Nasional (BN) is not contesting all 36 state seats. Instead, it has left 11 seats to Perikatan Nasional (PN), which is dominated by the Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS), and Parti Wawasan Negara, led by Hamzah Zainudin. Three of those 11 seats — Lobak, Mambau and Lukut — are traditionally associated with the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA).
These three traditional MCA seats have among the highest proportions of Chinese voters in Negeri Sembilan. In Lobak, Chinese voters account for as much as 71.41%, the highest proportion in the state. Mambau follows at 58.67%, with Lukut at 47.85%. By giving up these seats, MCA has undoubtedly sacrificed its influence in Negeri Sembilan to provide bargaining chips for negotiations over co-operation between the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) and PAS.
The question is: is such a sacrifice worthwhile? Let us look at whom PN has fielded in these three constituencies.
The first is PN-PAS candidate P. M. Kumar, who is contesting Lobak. I believe Kumar is an associate member of PAS’s non-Muslim supporters’ wing.
The second is Erik Michael of PN’s Parti Wawasan Negara, who is contesting Mambau. Parti Wawasan Negara was formed by Hamzah Zainudin after he split from Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, and its political orientation is aligned with PAS.
The third is Sathes of PN’s Malaysian Indian People’s Party (MIPP), who is contesting Lukut. Many voters have never heard of this party. Within the Indian community, URIMAI, founded by former Penang Deputy Chief Minister P. Ramasamy after he left the Democratic Action Party (DAP), may be better known.
As BN and Pakatan Harapan (PH) formed the Unity Government after the 2022 general election, the two sides agreed that, in the 2023 elections across six states, the party holding each seat would contest it again. Because DAP had repeatedly won MCA’s traditional seats, MCA had no opportunity to field candidates at all, and its grassroots members expressed their dissatisfaction through various channels.
In fact, MCA performed well in the recent Johor state election and should have capitalised on that momentum in Negeri Sembilan. Instead, it unexpectedly surrendered the right to contest three traditional seats. Besides angering many grassroots members, the decision has left them bewildered: could these three PN candidates really win more votes than MCA candidates? Before campaigning has even begun in earnest, MCA already faces the awkward task of explaining itself to its own grassroots. That is not a good sign.
A second predicament is that BN’s MCA and the PAS-led PN are working together through a division of electoral responsibilities to take on PH, yet they dare not acknowledge this openly. Some MCA leaders, such as MCA Youth secretary-general Saw Yee Fung, have publicly rejected the arrangement, only to be told by MCA secretary-general Chong Sin Woon, ‘You need not come to campaign in the Negeri Sembilan election.’ Such serious internal discord before the contest has even begun is also not a good sign.
That BN would transplant its Johor state election strategy to Negeri Sembilan was entirely foreseeable to political observers. But does such an arrangement really require MCA’s interests to be sacrificed? Or does it indirectly strengthen PAS as well?
As to whether MCA and PAS are co-operating, MCA has no need to conceal the truth; Chinese voters can see what is happening. If there is co-operation, MCA should openly disclose its details. If there is none, MCA should make that clear rather than exchanging knowing glances with PAS. Such coyness will only confuse party members and further anger the Chinese community.
Lau Weng San
Speaker of the Selangor State Legislative Assembly
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