The test in Bukit Gantang
Sharon Tan, The Nut Graph
Barisan Nasional (BN) will face an uphill battle in the upcoming Bukit Gantang by-election, with the played-up "derhaka" issue not expected to be sustainable.
"It will be a test case of whether there is more Hang Jebat or Hang Tuah," said political analyst Khoo Kay Peng.
He said the current transfer of government was not from the Chinese [Malaysians] to the Malay [Malaysians] even though there was much talk about how DAP dominated the Pakatan Rakyat government in Perak.
"The people of Perak accepted the arrangement," he said, adding that Malay [Malaysians] were looking for quality government even though Umno had played up the "ketuanan Melayu" issue in the past two general elections.
Khoo said there was also growing dissatisfaction of the social class.
"Most reactions in the blogs (regarding the Perak crisis) were from Malay [Malaysians] and many mentioned Islam," he added. "Islam does not support feudalism but instead promotes equality. The concept of "derhaka" is difficult to sustain.
"The signs are not pointing to that. There is a danger to use that because politics will be more polarised," said Khoo, adding he did not think the "derhaka" issue will resonate with the Malay [Malaysians]. This will make Bukit Gantang a difficult battle for BN.
As for the non-Malay [Malaysian] votes, Khoo said that based on the last general election, the Chinese and Indian [Malaysian] votes had swung towards the opposition and would remain there.
