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236 Wong Chin Huat

Chart 11.2 Vote-pooling by BN/UMNO and PAS in GE14 and seven
by-elections
70% 1.24 1.4
1.26
60% 1.2
50% 1.09 1.0
0.86 0.99
40% 0.8
0.67
30% 0.6
20% 0.42 0.4
10% 0.2
0% 0.0
Sungai Balakong Seri Setia Port Cameron Semenyih Rantau
Kandis (S) (S) (S) Dickson Highlands (S) (S)*
(P) (P)
BN+PAS in GE14 UMNO+PAS in by-elections Gap/Swing

Note: Gap/Swing = Votes for UMNO’s and PAS’s joint candidate in by-election ÷
(votes for BN + votes for PAS in GE14)
(P): Parliamentary constituency; (S): State constituency
* As the N27 Rantau state constituency was a walkover in the 2018 general election,
the parties’ vote shares were taken from the vote gures for the P131 Rembau
parliamentary constituency, within the area of Rantau.

Consequence of Mismatch 3: Penalty for Competitive Politics

FPTP’s ruthlessness in encouraging ‘political unity’ puts a heavy price on losers,
which has the unintended consequences of discouraging intra-communal
competition and exacerbating communal anxiety in divided societies. Electoral
systems can essentially be distinguished by how far they force political
convergence by encouraging strategic voting instead of sincere voting. e
need for strategic voting is, in turn, determined by the magnitude of ‘wasted
votes’: those cast for losers and therefore not translated into representation.
A proportional representation (PR) system guarantees representation for
a vast majority of voters, hence voters can a ord to vote sincerely and even
small parties with niche electoral bases may ourish. In contrast, FPTP sets
no ceiling for wasted votes; even the vast majority of voters may be denied
representation if they cannot unite. Voters are forced to vote strategically
until there are only two viable parties. However, even then, an evenly-fought
battle will guarantee nearly half the electorate is unrepresented. In a deeply
divided society, that means half of a community’s strength is a spent force. For

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