KUALA LUMPUR, June 8 — A political analyst disagreed today with Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail’s claim that Malaysians want a two-party system.

Instead of a two-party system, University of Tasmania’s Asia Institute director James Chin said the Malaysian political climate will consist of two coalitions with smaller parties moving in between these coalitions.

“No, there won’t be two party system. What you have in the urban area is a lot of interest groups with a lot of different parties,” he told reporters after speaking at the Post-GE13 conference here today. 

Chin added that the smaller parties in the country would be more flexible in the future to interchange between the two coalitions, depending on their interests.

“What you have in Malaysia is two big coalitions, so smaller parties will move in between these coalitions. For example, the interest groups, the environmental groups, the contractor groups and the small business man groups will move between these two coalitions,” he added.

Chin also refused to comment on Persatuan Ummah Sejahtera Malaysia (PasMa),  a NGO which is looking to register as a political party.

PasMa is perceived as a vehicle to replace PAS in the opposition pact, amid expectations that the Islamist party may leave or be expelled over its continued push for hudud.

Yesterday, Dr Wan Azizah told a press conference that her party, PKR, will speak to warring allies PAS and DAP to convince them of the need to keep the Pakatan Rakyat pact intact.

“In our mind, we have to be a two-party system, which is good for the country,” she said, citing the results of Election 2013.

“Now we want the concept of Pakatan to hold on. We, as PKR, want to show that we can work together.”

PAS had on Saturday confirmed its decision to sever ties with DAP while still remaining in PR with PKR, after its motion to do so was approved without debate.

The two parties have been openly hostile over PAS’s ambition to enforce hudud in Kelantan.

The development drove DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang to declare PR dead and awaiting “funeral rites”.