Bersatu mahu tarik undi Melayu daripada BN-PN, kata penganalisis

Bersatu is hoping to continue its cooperation with Pakatan Harapan (PH) even until the next general election, according to political analyst Azmi Hassan. The participation of Bersatu in the Melaka by-election is seen as a test for the party's ability to mobilize Malay voters and prevent a united victory for Barisan Nasional-Perikatan Nasional (BN-PN), the analyst said.

Azmi Hassan from Nusantara Academy stated that Bersatu joined the by-election with the hope of demonstrating its capability to become a valuable ally for PH in PRU16, especially by drawing Malay voters away from BN and PN. He believed that division of Malay voters could benefit PH, particularly in the four mixed constituencies of Gadek, Ayer Keroh, Pengkalan Batu, and Kelebang, where Bersatu and PH are contesting.

Azmi Hassan told FMT that Bersatu hopes to show it can attract a portion of Malay voters away from BN and PN, so that the PH-Bersatu partnership can continue until the next general election. PH is contesting in 24 out of 28 seats in the Melaka by-election, while Bersatu is contesting in seven, including four where the cooperation between the two parties is taking place.

Malay voters form a small majority in Pengkalan Batu and Kelebang, with a significant Chinese and Indian voter base in those areas. Two of these constituencies were won by BN in the 2021 general election with a narrow margin of less than 900 votes. In Ayer Keroh, PH also contested with Bersatu, which is a strong DAP stronghold with 47.6% of Chinese voters, followed by 42.4% Melayu and 8.3% Indian voters.

DAP won the seat with a comfortable margin of 5,624 votes in 2021 when BN and PN also contested. PH's president Adly Zahari had previously hinted at cooperation with Bersatu in the Nov 14 by-election, saying that multiple contests could give PH a bigger boost compared to a head-to-head contest with BN-PN. Bersatu, as a "rouser," could potentially benefit PH, especially in non-Malay constituencies, but this might only give BN-PN an advantage, according to Syaza Shukri from Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia.

She doubted Bersatu's ability to draw enough Malay votes from BN-PN to help PH win those four seats, and believed that Bersatu's impact might be minimal in Ayer Keroh if BN and PN manage to attract Malay votes, while the Chinese voters would likely stay away from voting. She believed that the Bersatu-PR partnership is mainly aimed at testing which party has more public support, especially among non-Malay voters, but this situation would only benefit BN-PN.

Bersatu contested 16 seats on the PN ticket in the Johor and Negeri Sembilan by-elections in early 2023, but suffered heavy losses in all of those contests.