Associate Professor Farish Noor considers, however, that it will be more difficult to predict election results with so many parties in the fray 
Kuala Lumpur, Aug.16.─ The emergence of new political parties in Malaysia suggests participatory democracy is quite vibrant, academic and respected observer Dr Farish A. Noor says.
It shows Malaysians still believe in playing by the rules of constitutional democracy, says the Associate Professor at the S Rajaratnam School of International Studies, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore.
However, he says in a comment piece in the Straits Times, “the splintering of parties and the emergence of new parties will also contribute to the splitting of votes at any coming election, making it more difficult to predict the outcome of political contests at both the state and federal levels”.
Farish notes that Malaysia’s political landscape has grown even more complex and diverse with the establishment of Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia, not too long after Parti Amanah Negara or Amanah was formed.
Bersatu and Amanah are basically made up of dissidents who once belonged to Umno and PAS ...
[ Full text ]