Negeri Sembilan polls — race that hinges on race

A total of 36 seats are up for grabs in the 16th Negeri Sembilan state election, with 889,490 voters eligible to cast their ballots.SEREMBAN: Elections are often distinguished by a defining campaign narrative. In Malaysia, it is race, and this has never been more evident than in the hustings for the Negeri Sembilan election today.In the two weeks leading up to D-Day, “wakil rakyat” hopefuls inundated voters with promises centred on jobs, investments, and better public service.Yet, the narrative that stood out was the one that focused on identity politics — expounded in equal fervour by the three coalitions that were jostling for seats in the state assembly.Barisan Nasional (BN) and partner Perikatan Nasional (PN) zeroed in on the Malay-Muslim unity spiel while rival Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) pitch was mainly a caution against electing a government dominated by Malay-based parties.On the side, BN also wisely pushed a less divisive and more rational option: governance-focused administration.Racial divideAt the heart of BN and PN’s campaign was the message of Malay unity (penyatuan ummah). Their argument was that their electoral understanding was necessary to ensure stable leadership in Negeri Sembilan.In previous elections, BN and PN would have fought over the same pool of Malay voters, often splitting the votes between them.

This time, they stayed out of each other’s way, hoping that doing so would be enough to overcome PH’s traditional strength in constituencies with largely non-Malay voters.The calculation makes sense on paper. Malays make up 57% of the electorate in Negeri Sembilan, while 23 of the state’s 36 seats have Malay-majority electorates. In 11 of those seats, Malays account for more than 75% of voters.But their campaign hit a snag last week when PN election director and Kedah menteri besar Sanusi Nor sparked controversy at a ceramah in Jempol by claiming that “Tanah Melayu” was the homeland for Malays.For many, by making that remark, Sanusi had implicitly questioned the loyalty of Malaysian Chinese and Indians.Given that unexpected development, the test of the BN-PN strategy may now rest on how non-Malay voters respond to Sanusi’s goof.An opportunity to exploitRather than be discouraged, PH worked to turn the Malay-Muslim unity rhetoric to its own advantage.It became a rallying point for the coalition, particularly its component DAP.