LETTER | The partnership between Muda and Pakatan Harapan was somehow tarnished when Harapan excluded them from the unity government secretariat meeting for the second time.

Technically speaking, Harapan did nothing wrong in not inviting Muda to the meeting, as the secretariat acts as a channel of communication between those ruling parties with cabinet positions to strengthen their relationship.

Muda, with only one parliamentarian, was not invited to join the cabinet.

A more shocking development is that Harapan secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail has yet to read Muda’s application to join the coalition that was filed last September.

According to Harapan leaders, they have “more pressuring matters” to discuss before raising Muda’s application to the presidential council.

Analysts have jumped in to state that Harapan would continue to sideline Muda if it cannot provide more political contributions to the coalition.

Muda’s potential was never fully shown in GE15. The six constituencies it contested are largely suburban or rural areas, of which even big Harapan components like PKR and DAP do not stand a chance.

As a social media-based party, Muda’s strongholds would most likely be located in urban areas. However, this clashes with Harapan’s other component parties including PKR, DAP, and Amanah.

This is probably the reason why Harapan is being hesitant in accepting Muda, as these big parties are too afraid of sharing their guarantee-win seats with the youth-based party.

Youth wings at risk?

Another possible reason is that Harapan’s component parties are also afraid that Muda’s popularity among urban youths may jeopardise the interests of their respective youth wing, which they struggle to grow.

Based on GE15 results, most youths actually voted for Perikatan Nasional, specifically PAS. This showed that Harapan’s youth line-up is still not appealing enough to turn into youth votes.

By having Muda as one of the components, Harapan could enjoy immediate youth support while growing its youth wings. Growing the youth wings requires time, and Muda can fill up the gap in the meantime, especially when state elections are near.

After these youth wings successfully grow into capable political resources, Muda would have grown into a much older party and that’s the time for transition.

Whether this relationship would work depends largely on Harapan’s will of sharing power and political resources with Muda.

It is certainly not easy for three parties that have been working together for more than 20 years to accept a newcomer that could possibly take away a portion of their benefits.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.