Political analysts Syaza Shukri and Abdul Muqit Muhammad said PN remained the more advantageous platform for the Bersatu president, given its established and organised election machinery.
They said that IPR, on the other hand, had yet to demonstrate a clear objective as an electoral coalition.
Syaza, of International Islamic University Malaysia, told FMT that for now, IPR looked more like a platform for political discourse with the real question being whether it could evolve into a genuine electoral cooperation bloc.
However, she acknowledged that IPR offered Muhyiddin a stronger leadership position, as PN continues to grapple with uncertainty over its chairmanship and overall direction.
“I see this as a survival strategy. IPR helps to maintain Muhyiddin’s visibility.
“At the same time, we are also seeing PAS revive talk of Muafakat Nasional (MN). It’s as if both Muhyiddin and PAS have lost confidence in PN,” she said.
Muqit, meanwhile, said that Muhyiddin’s involvement in IPR suggested a degree of desperation to remain relevant amid Bersatu’s internal conflicts and increasingly strained ties with PAS.
“However, this move will not place Muhyiddin in a stronger position than when he was with Pakatan Harapan or PN. In fact, it could be seen as a step backwards,” he said.
He also described PN’s internal turmoil as evidence that the idea of Malay unity was little more than recycled political rhetoric, while IPR was unlikely to have a significant impact in future electoral contests.
“How do they plan to allocate seats when even mainstream parties like PAS and Bersatu are struggling with seat negotiations?” he said.
PAS remains the dominant pillar
Azmi Hassan of Akademi Nusantara said that without PAS, both IPR and PN would have little political weight.
He said although the membership of IPR and PN appeared largely similar, with IPR having a slight edge in the number of parties, PAS remained the dominant pillar that would ultimately determine the opposition’s real strength.
“Without PAS’s support, whether Muhyiddin chairs IPR or PN makes no difference to his political career, and it would make it harder for Bersatu to emerge as a stronger party,” he said.
Azmi added that as long as the PN chairmanship dispute and internal issues such as the political crisis in Perlis loomed, PAS would continue to leverage its influence.
As the party with the most parliamentary seats and control of four states, PAS would be able to exert pressure and shape the direction of both PN and IPR, he said.
Muhyiddin chaired an IPR meeting last week amid the ongoing tiff with PAS over the PN chairmanship.
He was joined by other PN component leaders, including Gerakan president Dominic Lau and Malaysian Indian People’s Party deputy president S Subramaniam. No PAS leaders were present, although the party is a member of IPR.
IPR also comprises Pejuang, Urimai, the Malaysian Advancement Party, Putra, Berjasa, Muda and the National Indian Muslim Alliance Party.