How to win the Malay vote – Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad

[superadmin]

HOW can PKR win the Malay vote – said to be a key weakness of ours – especially with the Undi18 reforms kicking in? First, we must understand where the community is at this moment politically.

Today, most Malays realise the flaws and failures of the Ketuanan Melayu and Negara Islam ideologies championed by Umno (as well as Bersatu) and PAS respectively.

They realise that these parties do not pursue radically different policies when in power, as opposed to their rhetoric in opposition.

Today Umno and PAS become mute on issues like the death of Muhammad Adib Mohd Kassim or the Buy Muslim First campaign that raged during the Pakatan Harapan (PH) era. There has been no closure to the Adib case.

The economic problems of the Muslims and Bumiputera remain the same.

The only difference is that where Umno and PAS leaders used to be in opposition, today they are ministers or directors of government-linked companies (GLCs).

The Ketuanan Melayu ideology still operates on the assumption that the Malay people are a poor, rural community.

However, the fact is that today, most Malays live in urban areas. Indeed, Malaysia’s urban population is now majority Bumiputera. The New Economic Policy (NEP) has created a Malay middle-class, although most of the B40s are still Malay and Bumiputera.

- More -