Socio-political analyst Awang Azman Pawi of Universiti Malaya said while the party had its share of hardcore supporters who will vote for the party come what may, the young ones especially those who are yet to decide are a different breed and will not be taken in easily by the party’s propagandist style of campaigning.

“Without the Malay Proclamation, the party has very little issues as political fodder to influence this group of voters in the six state elections to be held soon.

“However, it may have an impact in the Malay belt states of Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah where most of its core voters are.

“Obviously, the proclamation is being used to win the sympathy and support from the Malay voters especially in the Pakatan Harapan-ruled states of Penang, Selangor and Negeri Sembilan by saying the unity government led by Anwar Ibrahim is not protecting the rights of the community. This is aimed at weakening the government,” he told FMT.

Awang Azman described the “Malay Proclamation” as mere rhetoric and political propaganda to attract the attention of the voters and destabilise the unity government although there is no basis to their claims that Malays will lose power if Anwar continues to lead the nation.

He said based on the official figures on population growth in Malaysia, the claim by Mahathir and Hadi does not hold water and they are blatantly misleading Malaysians.

PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang and several leaders of the Islamic party signed the “Malay Proclamation” in the presence of Mahathir recently to signify support for Mahathir’s call for the Malays to unite and “save” the community.