PETALING JAYA: Political analysts have downplayed the viability of a plan to name Sabah Chief Minister Shafie Apdal as the federal opposition鈥檚 prime minister candidate.
Speaking to FMT, Universiti Sains Malaysia鈥檚 Sivamurugan Pandian and Universiti Teknologi Malaysia鈥檚 Azmi Hassan said the plan would require PKR鈥檚 support and this was unlikely to happen.
Sivamurugan said PKR has been adamant on wanting their president Anwar Ibrahim to be the PM candidate, an idea which Warisan does not support.
鈥淭his could be a psywar strategy to divert from the real issue faced by Warisan and Pakatan Harapan. It could also be part of a strategy to deter mass defections from Warisan to PN,鈥 he said.
He said PKR would naturally question why Shafie was being pushed as a PM candidate rather than a combination of Anwar and Shafie as PM and deputy prime minister.
Azmi views Shafie to be clearly Mahathir鈥檚 choice and a proxy for the 94-year-old former prime minister.
鈥淐ompared to Anwar, Shafie does not have the political clout to get the numbers to oust the Perikatan Nasional government,鈥 Azmi said.
Recent attempts to destabilise the Warisan-led Sabah government, which includes the defections of two assemblymen, highlighted the limited amount of support that Shafie commanded in his own 鈥渇ortress鈥, said Azmi.
He said Shafie was at risk of being challenged by his predecessor Musa Aman, who has been acquitted of corruption charges and remains influential in the state.
鈥淲ithout PKR鈥檚 support, it is impossible for PH to regain control of Putrajaya,鈥 he said.
He said the choice of Shafie as PM-candidate was 鈥渁 very poor strategy, it seems desperate and not well thought out.鈥
A Sarawak rather than a Sabahan politician is the key to recapturing Putrajaya, says political scientist Wong Chin Huat.
He said that if GPS did not join the effort against Perikatan Nasional, whoever emerged as the PH-endorsed candidate to be PM would only get an empty title.
鈥淭he real question is what can PH plus give to GPS that Perikatan Nasional cannot match?鈥 said Wong, who leads the reformist group Engage.
Even with GPS on their side, the opposition would also need to win over a significant number of MPs from Umno and PPBM to avoid any protests 鈥渋n the name of Malays and Islam鈥 to push for a snap poll.
With the opposition looking so fragile and unstable, Wong said he could not foresee defections.
He questioned on what basis Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin would surrender to demands to dissolve Parliament. 鈥淔rom Umno and PAS鈥 position, a snap poll is the best outcome,鈥 he said, adding that they could win between 90 and 100 seats with or without PPBM.
The PH attempt at a counter coup against PN might end up only strengthening the position of Umno and PAS for five years, he said.
Wong looked back on Anwar鈥檚 move after the 2008 elections to engineer defections from Barisan Nasional. Instead of overthrowing prime minisiter Abdullah Ahmad Badawi, the move resulted in a much tougher opponent in Najib Razak becoming PM.
鈥淲hy should Amanah and DAP go along with such a move?鈥 Wong said. 鈥淚鈥檓 puzzled.鈥
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