PAS is looking to win in the upcoming Sarawak elections, but analysts say the party's ambition is far-fetched. – The Malaysian Insider file pic, February 13, 2016.
PAS has next to zero chance of winning a single seat in the upcoming Sarawak elections, analysts say, despite the Islamist party's ambition of seeing the "birth" of its first elected representative in the state.
Dr Jeniri Amir, a political analyst from Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) said PAS had to resolve many issues first, chief among them the perception that the party was made up of religious extremists.
While PAS had made inroads in Sarawak through numerous programmes and welfare activities, it had not done enough to clear up the confusion over its image among Sarawak voters, he said.
"PAS still has far to go in Sarawak. To believe it can win in Sarawak is just wishful thinking. History will repeat itself, and PAS will again lose in all the seats it contests," Jeniri told The Malaysian Insider.
Even if PAS were to field non-Malays in areas where non-Muslims dominated, it would still not be enough to win over voters, he said.
"They have no chance, the Chinese would not vote for PAS. Nor would the Dayaks or the others because PAS has an image of being religious extremists. So the party is stuck."
Professor Dr Kartini Aboo Talib@ Khalid of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) meanwhile said PAS's chances were hampered by the official barriers put into place to prevent the opposition from entering Sarawak.
"I believe Sarawak is forbidden territory for opposition parties. Sarawak Chief Minister Tan Sri Adenan Satem has said he would not allow any opposition party to enter Sarawak.
"So I think PAS can try, but it should be prepared to lose," said the deputy director of UKM's Institute of Ethnic Studies (KITA).
She added that Adenan's call for Sarawak's autonomy appeared to be bearing results, a major demand among Sarawakians who wanted the state to be free from Putrajaya's control.
Professor Dr Sivamurugan Pandian from Universiti Sains Malaysia (USM) said the "Adenan factor" as well as PAS's bad track record in the state indicated the Islamist party was in for another disappointment come election time.
"Perhaps PAS has its own strategy, and that's why it's so confident about winning a seat. But it will be very hard for it to make inroads in Sarawak because the state-based parties are more influential than those from the peninsula.
"Maybe things would be different if PAS created a Sarawak-based party that was unique. That would take time, but it would not be impossible if PAS were to make it a long-term plan," he said.
On February 1, PAS election director Datuk Mustafa Ali said the party was confident of winning one or two seats out of the 11 it was planning to contest in the Sarawak elections slated for April.
Mustafa had said the party was ready to fight candidates from any party, including former ally DAP.
- TMI
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