PETALING JAYA: Early indications of a lacklustre turnout by Chinese voters in Selangor have raised concerns among political parties.
According to political pundits, a low Chinese voter turnout coupled with a high Malay voter turnout might boost Perikatan Nasional’s chances of capturing Selangor.
Political analyst Liew Wui Chern said with political fatigue setting in, many Chinese voters also had the perception that Pakatan Harapan could win easily in Selangor.
“Another factor is their frustration over the Pakatan-Barisan Nasional pact and Perikatan’s fight in issues relating to 3R (race, religion and royalty),” he said when contacted.
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While Malay votes would decide whether it was a big majority or a slim margin for Perikatan, Liew said Pakatan-Barisan would need at least a 70% Chinese voter turnout to secure Selangor.
The researcher and lecturer from Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman feels that Malay voters remain unpredictable.
“During a recent survey in northern Selangor, most of them have yet to decide who they are going to support.
“Some voted for Perikatan in the 15th General Election (GE15) last year, but are currently reconsidering.
“Malay voters in the urban Klang Valley are split between Pakatan-Barisan and Perikatan,” he added.
Liew said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s announcement on the Madani Economy roadmap had undoubtedly earned him more Malay support in urban areas.
However, he added that it did not really attract much attention from Malay voters in rural areas.
“The unity pact urgently needs to come up with strategies to push for a higher Chinese voter turnout if they want to win with a large majority like in 2018 (GE14).
“They need at least 80% total voter turnout and at least 85% Chinese voter turnout in Selangor,” he said.
As Pakatan component parties are working the ground to ensure high non-Malay votes of over 60% to stem the “Green Wave”, political observer Dr Lam Choong Wah said Pakatan was in a “difficult and defensive position”.
Forecasting a lower overall voter turnout than in GE15, he said Pakatan needed to encourage more Chinese, especially those in rural seats, to come out and vote.
“At present, Chinese voters lack the election mood,” he said.
Current affairs observer and columnist Koh Kok Wee said Perikatan was adopting two strategies in Selangor.
“There are 37 out of the 56 state seats that are Malay-centric. Perikatan knows they need to boost the Malay voter turnout in these seats while enticing Barisan supporters to their side.
“If they succeed, they can form the state government with a simple majority.
“Otherwise, it’s better for them if fewer Malays come out to vote,” he said.
Koh said Perikatan’s aim was to either to get as many votes as possible from these Malay-majority seats to wrest the state from Pakatan, or slash the Malay representation in the new Selangor government.
Based on past election trends, he predicted that Malay voter turnout would still be high due to racial and economic issues.
“The non-Malay voter turnout must go higher than 70% or it will affect Pakatan.
“Barisan supporters also play a significant role. Their turnout must exceed 50% and they must vote in favour of Pakatan in order to retain Selangor,” he said.
Koh said Pakatan also needed to reach out to outstation voters to return home to vote.
“They must also encourage young voters to cast their ballots while convincing voters about their cooperation with Barisan.
“There should be less rhetoric. Raise direct issues that resonate with voters, such as the state’s economic development,” he added.
