Why the heartland Malays will never support UMNO and Pakatan Harapan

It’s not about race and religion

Murray Hunter

Ever since Anwar Ibrahim and his Pakatan Harapan (PH) coalition joined forces with the United Malays National Organisation (UMNO) to lead a unity government in November 2022, prime minister Anwar has attempted to gain the support of the heartland Malays in the north and east coast of the peninsula.

PH had initially believed that UMNO as an electoral partner, would once again be able to recapture the heartland Malay vote. UMNO had traditionally dominated the Malay heartland vote over the last 70 years. Recapturing the Malay heartland vote is important for Anwar to gain a second term as prime minister. Thus, support from the Malay heartlands would sure up his government and bring much needed political stability, that would enable him to form a new government after the next general election.

Anwar and his confidents have been projecting their “Islamic” credentials as a strategy to win the heartland Malay vote in the next general election, due by 2027. However, this approach doesn’t seem to be working.

Anyone who has lived in the kampongs in northern Malaysia will know the major issues are not race and religion. Malays are looking for emancipation from the tyranny of feudalism. They disrespect crony capitalism, nepotism, and people who are seen as the elites on society. Feudalistic displays of behaviour appal people in the kampongs, especially ‘bodoh sombong’ or arrogant behaviour.

The rejection of feudalism is not a rejection of the monarchy. The heartland Malays respect the Sultans and Raja. They provide stability and have never been questioned. The monarchy defines the Malay culture, and thus security to the heartland Malays.

However, these sentiments are not the same for political leaders. This is why PAS lost the state of Terengganu almost two decades ago, when the exco-members started acting like elites. Changes in government in Kedah often hinge upon the demeanour of the Menteri Besar (chief minister) at the time. It’s not about race and religion, it’s about feudalism.

A feudalistic unity government

When Anwar became prime minister at the end of November 2022, those who loyally supported PH for the last 25 years had expected a reform agenda emerging from the new government. This didn’t happen. It very quickly (not so quickly for the true believers) became evident that the new government very firmly supported the establishment.

Instead of ‘reformasi’ as a guiding ideology, the UMNO signature culture of arrogance and looking after sectional interests came through. Anwar’s government showed itself to be a government of the elite, run for the elite. This can be seen through presentation, policy and action.

As a feudalistic orientated government, freedom of speech has been gradually clamped down upon. The Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC), led by an UMNO power broker, has risen as a powerful force over the last year. Anyone who criticises the government is quickly taken to task through media suppression, threats and charges of sedition.

Making the discussion about the 3Rs (race, religion, royalty) of any kind taboo is used not to suppress hate speech, but to suppress criticisms the government and business dealings by the ruling families and their cronies. The 3Rs has been put into place to protect feudalism.

Perhaps this smug superiority complex can be overtly seen through the government spokesman and communication minister Fahmi Fadzil. In dismissing the last Reporters Without Borders (RSF) freedom of speech index, where Malaysia slipped 34 places to 107, Fahmi said the index was not ‘gold standard’. Fahmi publicly said people who publicly disagreed with him would be hauled off to the police. Police reports are made against anyone who criticises the Malaysian Communication and Multi-Media Commission (MCMC), an agency within his ministry. Fahmi has become Malaysia’s ‘censorship Czar’, bringing in new legislation to requiring social media be licensed.

This is what the heartland Malays oppose -elitism. The world of the VVIPs gaining wealth through patronage and politically connected cronies running around the country becoming multi-millionaires through ‘who they know’ is repugnant to the heartland Malays.

The New Economic Policy (NEP) introduced in 1971 was engineered to bring equity into the Malaysian economy, where Bumiputeras would be given special privileges and incentives to assist this group economically catch up with non-Bumiputera’s, namely the Chinese. However, over the decades the NEP has been turned into a mechanism which assists the elites gain business advantages, leading to great wealth for a small group.

Many Malays see through the positive discrimination towards Malays (and Bumiputeras) in government policy. The NEP was about equity, but this is heavily criticised in the heartlands as being self-serving for the Malay establishment, who have favoured their own over decade. The best scholarships went to those with political connections. Government contracts for Bumiputeras went to connected cronies. Corporate cronies have been able to use compulsory land purchase laws to buy over land below market rates, force longtime home owners out of their homes through evictions, so profitable commercial develops could take place. The Orang Asli (natives) in the peninsula and Penin people in Sarawak have been evicted from their traditional tribal lands, for crony companies to undertake lucrative logging. ESG and Industry 4.0 grants ensure SME assistance goes to connected people with the establishment. The threshold for small MSMEs is too high, so they miss out.

The biggest problem is people rarely look at Malaysian politics through a class lens, they prefer the racial paradigm, which distorts reality,

The green wave has been misunderstood

The mythical ‘green wave’ is not about Islam. The popularity of Pas is simply about subliminally standing against obsessive feudalism. Many who joined PAS did so out of disgust of the corruption displayed by UMNO when they were in power. Seeing PAS as a party of Islamists is just too simplistic.

Some heartland Malays want an Islamic government simply because they believe it won’t be corrupt like the group they see in power today. It’s a choice ‘for the better’ they see in front of them. They want sincere leaders, not leaders who ‘feather their own nests’. This is the real barrier UMNO and PH must overcome to gain respect and support in the Malay heartlands.

Support for the conservative parties in the north and east coast of Malaysia can be seen as a revolt against feudalism, not an Islamic revolution as some leaders on both sides like to portray. PAS has not been involved in any major financial scandals. Hence, heartland Malays see PAS as the party that will look after their interests.