Oh, my deer...

Better together: EC official preparing the list of political parties contesting in the recent Negri Sembilan state election. — MUHAMAD SHAHRIL ROSLI/The Star

IS the upcoming 16th General Election (GE16) shaping up to be a classic case of “gajah sama gajah berjuang, pelanduk mati di tengah-tengah (when elephants fight, the deer dies in the middle)” across Peninsular Malaysia?

If recent state election results in Johor and Negri Sembilan are anything to go by, only political heavyweights like Barisan Nasional, Perikatan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan can realistically capture seats. The smaller standalone parties, such as Parti Bersama Malaysia, PSM and Muda, get crushed.