Mazlan Ali said a Bersatu representative might be better suited as the prime ministerial candidate in efforts to win over non-Malay voters – a key demographic which PN consistently struggled to attract in past elections.

The Universiti Teknologi Malaysia academic said that PAS continued to be viewed by non-Malay voters as a conservative party due to its Malay-Muslim narrative.

“The chances of PAS leading PN are slim. Even though there have been suggestions that PAS could take the lead, I believe the PN chairman and poster boy should come from Bersatu.

“If PAS leads the coalition, it’s unlikely to broaden PN’s appeal among non-Malay voters because the party is closely associated with a Malay-Muslim agenda,” he told FMT.

It was recently reported that PN chairman Muhyiddin Yassin had offered PAS his role under a leadership rotation plan.

However, the offer was declined by PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang, who reportedly expressed full support for Muhyiddin to remain at the helm.

Universiti Malaya analyst Tawfik Yaakub said PN’s leadership structure needed a revamp to better connect with non-Malay voters.

He said one possible approach was to reach out to Barisan Nasional component parties such as MCA and MIC.

He said PN needed to strengthen the influence of Indian and Chinese parties within the coalition, as efforts through the Malaysian Indian People’s Party (MIPP) and Gerakan had largely fallen flat.

“MIPP and Gerakan function more as token component parties to check boxes in PN. The coalition should bring MCA and MIC into the fold – only then can its strategy to win over non-Malay voters begin to materialise,” he said.