分析人士说，马来西亚刚刚结束的选举结果表明，该国在种族方面比以往任何时候都更加两极分化，并指出新的马来民族主义集团国民联盟取得了惊人的进展。
分析人士指出，国民联盟开展了一场基于种族的竞选活动，其特点是据称具有分裂性的竞选演讲，以在匿名仇恨视频激增的情况下赢得大量马来人选票。
由前总理穆希丁亚辛领导的该集团将原教旨主义马来西亚伊斯兰党（PAS）列为其组成党派。
马来西亚理科大学的政治分析师阿兹米尔·莫哈末·塔耶布说，马来西亚的社会政治格局早已成熟，极右翼思想生根发芽，导致年轻的保守马来选民选择联盟。
“这次选举显示了国家的两极分化，尤其是马来人和非马来人之间的两极分化，以及选民，特别是马来人，并不像许多人想象的那样进步，因为他们以压倒性多数投票支持联盟，”阿兹米尔告诉贝纳尔新闻。
11 月 19 日在多民族和多宗教的马来西亚举行的大选导致议会出现悬浮议会，没有任何政党或联盟获得多数席位来组建政府。
安华易卜拉欣的多种族希望联盟集团赢得了最多的议会席位，82 个，国盟紧随其后，获得 73 个席位。
由以马来人为中心的巫统党支持的现任国阵集团在民意调查中被击败。 但当马来西亚国王任命他为总理以打破选举僵局时，它与安华结盟组建了一个新的“联合政府”。
上周宣誓就职后，安华总理表示，他代表所有马来西亚人，但“马来人的权利将继续处于核心地位，而其他种族和地区的权利将继续受到保护。”
分析师在大选前指出，预计联盟将蚕食巫统-国阵的马来人支持基础。
“但还没有到那种程度，”来自马来西亚诺丁汉大学的布里奇特威尔士告诉贝纳尔新闻，指的是国民联盟夺得的 70 多个席位。
凭借其“清洁和稳定”的口号，国民联盟似乎已经渗透到马来人的心脏地带，那里腐败污染的马来民族团结组织曾经占据优势。
政治观察家曾预测，对围绕巫统主席艾哈迈德扎希德哈米迪的腐败指控以及前总理纳吉布拉扎克与 1MDB 金融丑闻有关的定罪感到不满的马来人很可能会转向国盟。
威尔士人说，巫统内部的内斗，长期以来被视为马来选民的堡垒，进一步将这部分选民推向新集团。
“不宽容和基于仇恨的叙述”
这位分析师表示，国民联盟成功的另一个重要原因是该集团利用基于种族的言论为其优势，尽管它并不是唯一这样做的国家。
“[Using] 种族的 [sentiments} as a narrative was on both sides, particularly DAP as well as PAS and Perikatan. But I think PAS and Perikatan used this as one of their core strategies,” Welsh said.
The Democratic Action Party (DAP), is a constituent of Anwar’s Pakatan and largely ethnic Chinese. Some people in the country’s Malay majority distrust DAP, which they see as putting the interests of Malaysian Chinese front and center, to the detriment of Malays.
“We saw the repeated demonization of DAP which began well before and especially after 2019. And that was the proxy to demonize the Chinese. .. .There were events in which there were comments made by Muhyiddin Yassin about Christians and Jews at the end of the campaign,” Welsh added.
In the days leading up to the election, local media reported that Muhyiddin accused Pakatan of a Christianization agenda for Malaysia. Muhyiddin later said he was quoted out of context while commenting on a video he had seen.
One video that went viral, showed a PAS leader allegedly saying that those who voted for Pakatan would go to hell.
Analyst Tunku Mohar Mokhtar, of the International Islamic University of Malaysia, was scathing in his criticism of Muhyiddin, when he spoke to BenarNews before the election.
“He is right-wing, and is not tolerant of other ethnic groups,” Tunku Mohar said.
The recent polls also saw the extensive use of social media to disseminate hate speech, with young people seen spouting far right rhetoric. The origin of these videos was not known.
According to a local not-for-profit journalism initiative, PAS President Abdul Hadi Awang was “one of the key amplifiers of divisive, racist, intolerant and hate-based narratives,” the Malay Mail newspaper reported on Nov. 17.
The social media monitoring initiative undertaken by the Centre for Independent Journalism said that Hadi and PAS had accused rivals DAP of being communists, citing their alleged atheism and “promotion” of LGBTQs.
Munira Mustaffa, executive director of the Chasseur Group, a consulting specializing in security challenges, said voters in Malaysia had become bolder in expressing their extreme views.
“The issues and grievances highlighted during the election trails were not novel. This time, however, the reactionary right has become more emboldened,” she told BenarNews.
“We are only realizing it now because political players are becoming increasingly adept at leveraging technology and social media to enhance their campaign trails and political messaging.”
PAS makes a mark
A striking feature of Perikatan’s success was the number of seats that PAS was able to win, both when contesting by itself and under the Perikatan logo. Estimates vary slightly, but PAS says it won 49 seats, the most seats won by a single party.
According to the two analysts, PAS’s large number of wins were due to its alliance with the more organized and strategic Perikatan, and not because of support for a more conservative agenda.
“One cannot equate this [winning more seats] 以支持大规模的保守 PAS 议程，”分析师威尔士说。
“许多国盟选民甚至不知道伊斯兰党是国盟的一部分。 这些席位中有许多是通过战略布局赢得的，我们必须承认佩里卡丹在其竞选活动中拥有的大量资源。”
但其他人认为这次选举标志着 PAS 的崛起。
为 BenarNews 撰稿，分析师 扎卡里·阿布扎 说 PAS 已经从一个在农村和保守的东北部拥有权力基础的政党变成了一个全国性政党。
“这是马来政治的一个分水岭，是该国日益增长的宗教信仰和日益增长的不容忍的证据，”华盛顿国家战争学院教授兼乔治敦大学兼职教授阿布扎写道。
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