Pengundi muda PN tak sedar PAS-Bersatu berbalah, kata Ilham Centre

Ilham Centre has stated that a majority of younger PN supporters in the recent PRN Johor and Negeri Sembilan elections were unaware of the internal conflicts between Bersatu and PAS, which are currently undermining the coalition. Hisommudin Bakar, the Executive Director of Ilham Centre, explained that despite the gradual branding of PN, most young voters only know PN as PN, PN, PN due to this slow branding.

In Johor and Negeri Sembilan, some voters expressed a desire to vote for PN directly, even in constituencies where PN was not fielded. PAS and Wawasan Negara (Wawasan) party leaders, Hamzah Zainudin, have benefited the most from this phenomenon by capitalizing on PN's strong name recognition, as evidenced by the Negeri Sembilan PRN results.

Yusri Ibrahim, the Chief Investigator of Ilham Centre, argued that BN and PN's coalition is fundamentally viable as they can win any constituency where Malay voters make up at least 40% of the electorate. If they followed the successful model in Negeri Sembilan during the Melaka PRN, BN-PN could win 24 out of 28 seats. However, Yusri acknowledged that constituency negotiations pose a significant challenge ahead of the Melaka PRN.

Zaini Othman, a fellow panel member from Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, did not object to the use of political identity in Malaysia, given that regional and ethnic identities form a cornerstone of the country's political structure. He emphasized that disavowing these identities would lead to opposition from the populace.

Previously, Pakatan Harapan (PH) blamed the exploitation of political identity by their opponents for their defeat in Negeri Sembilan PRN, as BN-PN secured a two-thirds majority. DAP's former MP Ong Kian Ming contended that this claim was unfair, as PH also benefited from the ethnic narrative during previous elections.