Chinese votes: Umno ‘bigger beggars’ than PKR, PAS
The Umno-led BN was rejected by the Chinese in last year’s general elections.
Suresh Kashuerin, Free Malaysia Today
A veteran journalist who once helmed the New Straits Times, an Umno mouthpiece, isn’t sure that all Malay political parties are begging for Chinese votes as made out by former Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad in a recent take.
The answer, said Kadir Jasin in his latest blog posting, could be yes or no. In short, the jury is still out on the issue.
“By the look of things, the one that is really begging for Chinese and Indian votes is Umno,” said Kadir in dismissing the notion that PKR and PAS were beggars as well. “In the present situation, the Malays are neither here nor there.”
“The Umno-led Barisan Nasional (BN) was the one that was rejected by the Chinese in last year’s general elections.”
In Pakatan Rakyat (PR), he added, the begging by the Malay-dominated parties, if any, is less obvious. “This is partly because there is no dominant party in the pact. It is a partnership of equals. The PKR, DAP and PAS are of equal strength.”
The power of the Malays rests with their numbers, according to Kadir. “Being in the majority and united, they controlled politics. Political control is important to the Malays because they are not in control of the economy.”
“I am speaking in the past tense because I am not sure anymore if the Malays still control politics.”
Out of 222 members in Parliament for example, 157 are Malays and Orang Asal, he noted. “So, politically the Malays still dominate by way of numbers. But do they lead the debate and set the agenda? I am not sure!”
