The Political Love Triangle Dominating The Headlines

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PKR, Umno and Bersatu. It's impossible to go a day without a top story involving at least two out of these three parties.
With the possibility of snap polls looming over Malaysia, each party has to soon decide affirmatively on how they will enter the 15th general election - or how they will leave it.
Bersatu is the latest Umno splinter party. It was formed in the lead-up to GE14. As a Malay-rights party just like Umno, their voter bases intersect almost perfectly.

With both Umno and Bersatu scrambling to outdo each other to appeal to the same voters, one will either have to sacrifice for the other - or risk splitting votes should they clash.
Political analyst Wong Chin Huat believes that the only way that some form of cooperation can take place between Umno and Bersatu is for them to establish some form of geographical demarcation and agree upon it.
However, Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has already said at the Umno General Assembly last month that there will be no cooperation with Bersatu in GE15.

Therefore, it is safe to assume that such cooperation is out of the question. However, there are possibilities for what could happen after the election.

Video: Umno and Bersatu are two brothers with the same love interest, destined to finish off each other



As it stands, PKR, Umno and Bersatu plan to enter GE15 as separate entities. A possible outcome of this is that none of these three parties, nor the coalitions they are part of, may hold enough seats to form a government.


Wong does not rule out the possibility of a coalition government being formed post-election. It is unlikely to see these parties enter the election as a united front.

Video: Unlikely for Umno and PKR to form a pact before GE15



Political negotiations take time - and so do preparations for elections. While the ball is in Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin's court now for when the elections will be called, pressure is mounting from both BN and Pakatan Harapan to return the mandate to the rakyat.


The emergency that has been heavily promoted as a method of dealing with the Covid-19 Pandemic is set to end in August 2021, which is fast approaching.
Wong thinks that for Muhyiddin, the only option he still has to buy time is to persuade the opposition with a supply and confidence agreement for dealing with the pandemic in exchange for a guarantee that his government will not be challenged in Parliament.

Video: Muhyiddin's only chance is to strike a deal with Harapan to buy time - Wong


 - Mkini

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