Expert: Barisan Nasional should contest every by-election
SEREMBAN: Barisan Nasional (BN) will lose its chance of gaining more experience of contesting as an opposition party if it does not participate in the Port Dickson by-election.
Political analyst Mujibu Abd Muis said BN should treat every opportunity to contest as preparation for the 15th General Election (GE15).
The Universiti Teknologi MARA Faculty of Administrative Science and Policy Studies lecturer said BN had more than enough experience contesting elections.
However, he said this was all gained when the coalition was in the government.
“The situation is different now. BN does not have the advantages it used to enjoy. The party is not only coming to terms with being in the opposition, but also grappling with internal problems,” he said, adding that this included having its assets frozen and its top leaders leaving the party.
He said Umno should use the by-election as a testing ground to see how people reacted to its cooperation with Pas.
He said BN could determine if Pas would support the coalition if a non-Muslim candidate from one of the coalition component parties was fielded.
“The coalition can determine if Pas will support BN if an MIC candidate is fielded.
“At the same time, it can see if MIC would support Pas in the event the coalition makes way for the Islamic party to contest in Port Dickson,” he said.
Mujibu said BN should use the by-election to formulate strategies to take on Pakatan Harapan in GE15.
BN, he said, should also use the by-election to put forward new candidates who could face the electorate without having to bear the burden of having to answer for the misdeeds of old faces.
“BN needs to show the people it is a party to be reckoned with.
“If it doesn’t contest then people may start thinking that it has no confidence and this can lead to the coalition’s deterioration.”
Mujibu said BN did not need to set a target of defeating a popular candidate.
Instead, he said, it would be an achievement if BN managed to reduce the majority garnered by PH during GE14 in the seat.