Awang Azman Pawi of Universiti Malaya said this was because PN would need to compete with existing parties like MIC and keep up with the current political trend in the country which shows the community leaning toward multiracial parties.
“Although PN is trying to attract Indian voters by forming a committee for Indians led by former MIC leaders, the impact is somewhat limited. Their desire to establish themselves won’t happen in just a year or two,” he told FMT.
Earlier this month, a Bersatu leader, speaking on condition of anonymity, said PN was forming an all-Indian committee fronted by former MIC leaders. The source said talks on the subject with the MIC leaders were ongoing.
Another leader from the Bersatu associates’ wing claimed many MIC members were unhappy with the way the party was being managed.
However, Awang Azman said a single-race party led by former Pakatan Harapan (PH) or MIC leaders would likely “fail” due to the inability of such leaders to survive in politics over the longer term.
He added that an Indian-based party aligned to PN may also struggle to gain the acceptance of non-Malay voters.
“The Indian population in a state or parliamentary constituency is not significantly dominant in the context of our country’s demographics, making it difficult for them to compete without cooperation from other major blocs like Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan,” he said.
Meanwhile, Azmi Hassan of Akademi Nusantara said PN may use the growing dissatisfaction of the Indian community towards DAP as an opportunity to move forward with plans aimed at setting up a new all-Indian party within its coalition.
This comes after DAP dropped Penang deputy chief minister P Ramasamy from its list of candidates for the state elections.
“There is a small opportunity, but not one that will create an upset within the Indian community,” he said.
However, he said, the Indian community would theoretically need representation since MIC has become irrelevant.
“It should be independent of the bigger parties. (The) opportune time for one to be set up (is) not in the near future, but before the next general elections,” he said.