Universiti Sains Malaysia’s Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid said he believed Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim is aware of this weakness and is trying to shore up support from the Malays.

“However, there is still not enough support,” he said at the Malaysia Outlook Conference 2023 organised by the Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (IDEAS).

Last month, Anwar, who is Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman, was reported to have said that a preliminary analysis of results from the last general election (GE15) showed that PH received the support of 31% of Malay voters overall.

Meanwhile, a recent O2 Malaysia survey based on 35,077 respondents found that 71% of Malays were dissatisfied with Anwar’s government.

Fauzi said the lack of support from the Malays for Anwar could make Perikatan Nasional leaders feel they had grounds to devise another ”Sheraton Move” in the hope of forming a new government.

Wong Chin Huat, a political scientist at Sunway University, said Anwar will need to increase support from the middle ground.

“The only way to ensure that a democracy is sustainable is through consolidation. No democracy can be consolidated unless there is a big enough middle ground,” he said.

“Anwar needs to have more people who say ‘I didn’t vote for you, but I accept your leadership’,” Wong added.

He said voters could be divided largely into two groups. One group that believes only their party is capable of running the government, while the other group thinks objectively despite their preferences.

“You have to pledge your commitment to a multi-party democracy.

“Until we change the fundamentals of the game, Anwar will never be able to do enough for the Malays no matter what he does,” Wong said.