Azmil Tayeb of Universiti Sains Malaysia said outgoing Bersatu Youth chief Wan Ahmad Fahysal Wan Ahmad Kamal cannot expect his party to achieve both aims in a bid to boost its flagging fortunes.
“(They are) contradictory and impossible for Bersatu to achieve,” he told FMT.
Azmil said the Malay-centric party would do better to pivot towards a more inclusive and moderate direction to differentiate itself from Umno. These would boost its prospects when competing in constituencies with a racially mixed electorate, he said.
“The Malay-majority areas are crowded with parties. Bersatu stands a better chance in mixed areas.
“But the challenge is for Bersatu to convince non-Malay voters that it is sincere and genuinely inclusive, considering its past. It needs to focus on bread and butter issues, not only race and religion,” he said.
Azmil added that Bersatu needs to convince young Malay voters that the core issues facing their community were economic in nature, rather than racial.
In a recent interview with FMT, Wan Fayhsal called for Bersatu to shift from its core philosophy of championing the Malay struggle to a more inclusive tone, which would include looking after the needs of the non-Malays.
The Machang MP said the pivot is necessary if Bersatu hopes to win big at the next general election.
Wan Fayhsal had called for his successor as Bersatu Youth chief to be as vocal as Akmal and himself in raising national issues so as to woo young Malays.
Akmal has butted heads with DAP leaders like Teresa Kok and Lim Guan Eng recently over a variety of issues. Pundits have said that the Umno firebrand’s outspoken nature and his party’s inability to rein him in have affected non-Malay support for the unity government.
Oh Ei Sun of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs said Bersatu seems to have lost its political direction while its leaders, including Wan Fayhsal, appear to be grasping at straws to revive the party.
“Hence the sometimes contradictory statements,” he added.
Oh also said Bersatu’s hopes of wooing non-Malays will remain a pipe dream so long as the party continues to work with PAS, its key ally in the Perikatan Nasional coalition.
“Bersatu can have its Akmal, and let’s see if it can detract more votes from Umno,” he said. “But as long as Bersatu is associating itself closely with PAS, it can forget about non-Malay votes.”