Azmi Hassan of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and James Chin of the University of Tasmania’s Asia Institute said BN’s choice of MCA’s Wee Jeck Seng as its candidate had made this quite clear.
They told FMT they believed Umno was keen to prove that its political agenda went beyond fighting for Malay interests.
However, they observed, the strategy appeared to be working against BN, noting that Umno members, particularly from the grassroots, boycotted the ceremony to celebrate Wee’s nomination. About 90% of those who attended the ceremony were MCA members.
The boycott was only the first sign of a crack in the coalition caused by the nomination, the analysts said.
“This scenario is not good for the opposition since it was expected that an Umno man would be the candidate,” said Azmi.
“I think one of the main reasons the announcement was made low profile was to camouflage the boycott.”
The Tanjung Piai Umno division had previously nominated its leader, Jefridin Atan, for the seat, which became vacant with the death of PPBM’s Md Farid Md Rafik.
PAS has declared its support for Wee, with secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan saying senior party leaders would be at the formal nomination of candidates to show their backing for BN.
Azmi expects BN to win the by-election with a bigger majority than PPBM obtained in the general election, saying Malay support for the coalition in Tanjung Piai has since solidified.
Chin meanwhile acknowledged that the Chinese community’s support for PH had dropped in recent times and expects both sides to use fear tactics.
“I think at the end of the day, the message is fear,” he said. “Umno will rely on the fear of DAP driving PH’s agenda. The key issue will be the alleged marginalisation of Malays under PH because DAP calls the shots.
“Meanwhile, DAP will say that if you vote for MCA, you are voting for Umno-PAS and extremism.”
He added that DAP would have to face issues such as the government’s procrastination in recognising the Unified Examination Certificate and the introduction of khat in the school curriculum.
PH has named PPBM’s Tanjung Piai division chief, Karmaine Sardini, as its candidate.
Gerakan is also entering the fray and has announced that its deputy secretary-general, Wendy Subramaniam, will be its candidate.
About 57% of the 53,528 registered voters in the constituency are Malays, 42% Chinese and 1% Indians.