SHAH ALAM – The newly formed loose coalition of 11 Opposition parties faces an uphill battle against public sentiment that its creation is merely an effort to bring down the government.
Political analyst from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM), Professor Datuk Dr Sivamurugan Pandian said the coalition must manage these sentiments with wisdom and rationality to earn public confidence.
He said the coalition needs to show its uniqueness and strength, instead of being viewed as just another grouping formed to challenge the government.
“The main challenge is to build confidence and address sentiments and perceptions in a context that goes beyond the formation of a coalition.
“There must be a uniqueness based on the strength of the coalition being built.
"Otherwise, people will see this as merely another large coalition formed with the aim of toppling the government.
"In fact, what is greater than that is the ideology or belief that is shared. Even though the parties are different, there must be a form of common ground to be built," Sivamurugan told Sinar.
Earlier, 11 Opposition parties had agreed to establish the coalition to champion issues they claim the Madani Government has failed to address, including unfulfilled promises of reform.
Sivamurugan believes that if the coalition genuinely prioritises the people’s interests, it could eventually become a strong political bloc.
“We see that the coalition involves 11 parties. In the context of our country, coalition parties indeed play a role. So, it is about how the coalition uses the time available before the election to demonstrate that this coalition is a viable option,” he said.
He added that the coalition’s strength would depend on its ability to embrace differences and focus on shared objectives.
“It is not just about defeating political rivals, but also about the confidence of how it wants to be perceived by the people, whether by hardcore voters or fence-sitters.
"All this must be built on efforts to embrace differences while at the same time focusing on strengthening unity,” he added.