PETALING JAYA: Analysts do not foresee any third force gaining traction in the political arena, despite supporters of Pakatan Harapan being disappointed with the opposition coalition’s failure to call for a bloc vote on the budget.
Oh Ei Sun of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs said it was very unlikely that a third force would replace PH as the opposition, adding that talk of a “powerful” third political entity was exaggerated.
However, considering the fragmentation in Malaysian politics, he said a political party could play the role of kingmaker, as envisaged by Dr Mahathir Mohamad for his Pejuang party, which is awaiting registration.
He told FMT that in other countries a third force could become well-established only with a “very mature” two-party system, with frequent regime changes between the government and opposition.
“But we don’t even have a mature two-party system, what more a third force,” he said. Both the government and opposition might need the support of a handful of seats from the Pejuangs and Mudas so they can squeeze through to form the government.
“A third force functioning as a kingmaker is possible, but not really as a powerful political bloc,” he said.
Azmi Hassan, formerly of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia, said in order for a third force to be influential, it would have to come from another established political entity, whether PH or the government coalition.
He told FMT that such political outfits would find it hard to survive in Malaysia due to the nature of Malaysians being used to more established parties.
“But if several parties can band together, then the third force can be a real force in Malaysian politics,” he said.
Following the events in the Dewan Rakyat on Thursday, he said Pejuang seemed to be a good candidate for this third force since it stood its ground against the budget in calling for the bloc vote.
However, he said Mahathir’s party was still a long way off from being a formidable third force, considering its small number of MPs, made even smaller with the departure of Maszlee Malik and Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman.
In recent years, groups such as Gerak Independent have been formed with the aim of pushing independent candidates to stand for election in the next polls.
PH supporters took to social media to vent their frustrations after the second reading of the 2021 budget was passed by a voice vote, with the opposition coalition deciding against calling for individual voting.
But with no other formidable option available besides the government, it is likely that opposition supporters will continue to back PH, although perhaps more warily now.