JOHOR BARU: Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia and Parti Pejuang Tanah Air, after suffering a crushing defeat in the Johor polls, need to re-strategise and consolidate if they harbour any hope of redemption in the next general election, say analysts.

       Universiti Sains Malaysia political analyst Prof Dr Sivamurugan Pandian said this was the second blow for Bersatu, which contested under the Perikatan Nasional banner, after its thrashing in the earlier Melaka polls.

       “I’m afraid it will affect the motivation of supporters and confidence in the parties’ leadership. This can happen unless they slowly woo Malay support after a post-mortem, with better strategies and intervention with voters.

       “Perhaps they can consider having different political collaborations,” he said when contacted last night.

       As for Pejuang, Dr Sivamurugan said this was its political debut and was a testing ground for it to see to what extent the Malays considered the party an alternative.

       “They might also consider working with others,” he added.

       Prof Dr Nik Ahmad Kamal Nik Mahmod of the International Islamic University Malaysia said the scenario had changed a lot since the 14th General Election, when Pakatan Harapan swept into power.

       “At that time, (Pejuang chairman) Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and (Bersatu president) Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin were with Pakatan, and there was no Pejuang,” he said.

       He said there was also the factor of former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who has been convicted and awaiting the end of his appeal in the Federal Court, but was on the campaign trail.

       “Since the Covid-19 pandemic, the Opposition has had no bankable issues to be used in an election campaign. It was evident in the Sarawak and Melaka polls, so Perikatan and Pejuang’s loss in Johor was expected.

       “I believe they have to restructure their strategies for the 15th General Election (GE15),” said Nik Ahmad Kamal, adding that they needed to regroup.

       “If Bersatu and PAS decide to contest on their own in GE15, I do not think that they will make significant inroads. They have to consider going together with Pejuang.

       “And it’s the same with Pejuang. They have to work together. People do not see Bersatu, PAS and Pejuang coming together again, but politics remains unpredictable,” he said.

       Political analyst Dr Muhammad Fuad Othman said that the results showed that the two parties needed to work harder to woo support.

       “Although there are lots of parties now, which means there are many options and this is good for democracy, small parties should try to consolidate their strength, finance and machinery to put forth a more credible political force,” he said.