Amanah still struggling for footing ahead of convention
(MMO) – The party is viewed as too liberal for the conservatives but also too conservative for the liberals, limiting its appeal at either end of the political spectrum.
By all accounts, Amanah profited richly from the 14th general election; almost all of its 11 MPs are in the government and the party can count five ministers and four deputy ministers in its stable.
But as Amanah heads into its national convention in Ipoh, a majority-Chinese tin mining turned gentrified town in Perak, the three-year-old Islamic party still appears to be searching for a unique identity that will not only set it apart from PKR and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (PPBM), but also appeal to the coveted Malay-Muslim voter who lives in the villages of Kelantan, Terengganu, and Kedah.
Formed by the progressive exodus from PAS, the party is viewed as too liberal for the conservatives but also too conservative for the liberals, limiting its appeal at either end of the political spectrum.
“Amanah has no support base,” Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia political analyst Datuk Mohammad Agus Yusoff said bluntly.
“They can’t compete with PAS even though they have five ministers.”
He noted that Amanah has no leaders in Kelantan and observed that the party’s success in the west coast was because of support from the Chinese, not Malays. The Malay middle class, he said, tended to support Pakatan Harapan (PH) and not Amanah per se.
Agus said it is fine for Amanah to be a progressive Muslim party, but it needs an “ideology”, just like how PAS — the conservative Muslim party that Amanah leaders had broken away from to form their own party — has its own belief system.
Pacific Research Centre principal adviser Oh Ei Sun also noted that Amanah has yet to find its “niche” “with the urban, middle-class-or-above Malay support covered by PKR and Bersatu, and the rural, lower-class Malay support cornered by Umno and PAS”.
PAS retained Kelantan and took over Terengganu from Umno in the 2018 election, while Umno retained the Malay heartlands of Perlis and Pahang. Amanah’s sole mentri besar is Adly Zahari in Melaka.
Universiti Putra Malaysia analyst Jayum Jawan said Amanah’s support base, judging from the distribution of its elected representatives, did not bode well for the young party’s future.
Amanah has 11 MPs, 5 per cent of the 222-seat Parliament. It also won a handful of state seats in Johor, Selangor, Perak, Kedah, Negri Sembilan, Penang, and Melaka. But Amanah does not have a single federal or state representative in Kelantan or Terengganu.
“Amanah is essentially a splinter of PAS and so far, it doesn’t seem that it is successful in drawing ‘good/ reputable’ PAS leaders to its side,” Jayum told Malay Mail.
