Analysts dismiss post-polls campaign for boycott of Kedah, east coast businesses

Analysts have played down calls by some for a boycott of businesses in Kedah and the east coast, describing them as an emotional response due to dissatisfaction with the results of the recent elections.

Speaking to MalaysiaNow, Shamsul Amri Baharuddin said the campaign was an example of the inability of some to accept defeat.

Shamsul, chairman of the National Council of Professors, said such people were shackled by "emotional politics", to the point that it had obscured economic reality.

"Why boycott Malay traders?" he added. "The entire chain of goods and supplies on the east and west coast of the peninsula is controlled by Chinese traders. 

"It's like pitting the Malays against each other." 

Calls for a boycott of products and businesses in Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu arose in the aftermath of the Aug 12 polls, among others by individuals linked to the Pakatan Harapan (PH)-Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition. 

Those behind the calls said these traders made a living in states governed by PH-BN but chose to support Perikatan Nasional.

Analyst Ahmad Atory Hussain attributed the situation to the attitude of some whom he said were obsessed with party politics. 

He also predicted an outbreak of hostility among the Malays and factionalism between the east and west coasts if such sentiments continued to be played up.

"It would be extremism without limits," he added. 

"We have to understand that even though the beliefs of individual parties differ, the brotherhood of Islam is still there. We shouldn't be at odds just because our political ideologies are different.

"The elections are over, and the results should be accepted by all."

Wan Muhd Aminuddin Wan Hussin, the president of Persatuan Anak Kelantan Perantauan Malaysia, dismissed the campaign, calling it a political norm. 

He said his association had yet to receive any complaints from Kelantanese working in other states due to the campaign. 

"It's a normal thing in politics," he said. "It's all talk. We haven't received any reports of businesses shutting down or a drop in customers."