INTERVIEW | After the 14th general election, pollster Merdeka Center estimated that Malay support for Pakatan Harapan was at around 25 to 30 percent.

Both BN and PAS proved to be more popular among Malaysia's largest ethnic group, garnering between 35 and 40 percent and 30 and 33 percent of support respectively.

Thus, the new government must grow its support among the Malays should it want to last more than one term and have enough time to implement the reforms that it has promised, argued DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang.

"There is a need for more Malays to come on board. This (the 25 to 30 percent) was enough for May 9 – for a change but it is not enough for a revival.

"[...] We must be able to increase the Malay understanding (of the government) and their support. More Malays must take ownership (of the change)," he told Malaysiakini in an interview at his party's headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

This needed to be done while sustaining its sky-high popularity among non-Malay voters. The same poll had pegged Harapan’s support from Chinese voters at 95 percent while from Indian voters, it was 75 percent.

"If you can't, then Harapan will fail. The 'New Malaysia' will fail, and we can go back to pre-May 9...