Recently, as recent as a few days ago, Perikatan Nasional met the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers or FMM. Details of the meet up was “revealed” by its secretary-general Azmin Ali when he spoke at a Chinese New Year dinner on 16 February held at a restaurant somewhere in Selangor.

According to Azmin, the meeting with FMM was “to show PN’s support for Chinese business owners”.

But wait a second. The FMM, although led by a Chinese gentleman i.e. Soh Thian Lai, is not a Chinese “association” per se.

The FMM does not have a “Chinese only” membership policy. In fact, its council members comprise people from various ethnic backgrounds.

At that meeting, the chairperson of PN, Muhyiddin Yassin, was said to have met with Chinese business owners and industry leaders led by Soh, who during the dialogue said Azmin had stated that “Muhyiddin and the PN saved Malaysia’s economy during the Covid-19 pandemic through economic stimulus packages that rescued hundreds of thousands of companies in Selangor and across the country. We were the saviours and provided solutions”.

Did Soh said what Azmin said he had said? Even if it’s a “yes”, that is not a problem. Soh has every right to say what he pleases.

I agree that Muhyiddin and PN “saved” the country through the economic packages. But without taking anything away from them, I must say Muhyiddin was prime minister and PN was government back then and what they did was what prime ministers and governments must do.

Anyway, here’s the “meat” of what Azmin said.

Remember he was speaking at a CNY dinner. Surely in attendance was a predominately Chinese audience. Hence Azmin told them “I stand here today appealing to the Chinese community across Selangor to give PN a chance to save the economy and foster more sustainable growth for the state’s future.”

Appealing for support is no issue. It’s what politicians do. However by “tying” the appeal to the FMM meeting which seemingly had “endorsed” Muhyiddin and PN, I say that is profiling or stereotyping, if you like, the Chinese community to be one which only cares about economy, business and money.

Granted the Chinese have a high degree of interest in the three things mentioned. But then those are not the only things they are interested in.

One does not have to be a Chinese to know that the community has education close at heart. The future of Chinese schools is a big concern.

Yes, the schools are “safe” now. The people asking for its abolishment have thus far failed. But they are still around, as if lurking in the dark to strike again.

Naturally, the Chinese want a solid assurance that the schools would not disappear in the future.

Then there’s the issue of admittance of Unified Examination Certificate graduates into public universities and the civil service. A long-standing issue despite the change of several governments, the light at the end of the tunnel is yet to be seen.

A big concern also is about rights and freedom. The right to practise their faiths is not merely allowing them to pray at temples or churches or not “harming” the great statues of Buddha. There are more to it.

Several laws and regulations put into place and implemented to “govern” only Muslims have somehow impacted the Chinese and non-Muslims in one way or another.

I don’t intend to go into details as I know many know what I am referring to.

I can go on and on but it’s suffice to say that it is not fair to lump the Chinese as people who do not care about anything other than money.

True money is important, but then not only to the Chinese. Every community feels the same and they are also putting importance on food on the table, roof under the head.

Azmin’s or rather PN’s strategy is to woo Chinese support using the economy.

As I see it, they only got it partially half. And there are questions to be asked. Was PAS present at the meeting with FMM? Azmin, and for that matter Muhyiddin, are from Bersatu. Are they on the same page as PAS? To address the concerns of the Chinese community other than the economy?

PAS is the big taiko in PN. Whatever gain made by Bersatu is the result of riding on PAS’ “green wave”.

It’s not far-fetched to say Bersatu needs PAS to survive. PAS reigns supreme in the Malay heartland…states like Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan and Terengganu. Majority of the Malays there are still taken in by PAS’ Islamic rhetoric.

The religion card is PAS trump card. And they have no intention of changing their strategy in keeping Malay support and to strengthen it.

So, while talking about being “inclusive”, tolerance, donning red and tossing yee sang during Chinese New Year, PAS has in the past hurt the feelings of the Chinese by what their leaders said and actions in the states ruled by them, and continuing to do so.

Bersatu is supposed to be the “moderate” face of PN, but to win Malay support, they too have behaved like PAS. Sometimes more PAS than PAS!

But in trying to woo non-Malays, they are “forced” to change strategy. Like making promises. But the big question: is PAS agreeable to the promises made by Bersatu to the non-Malays? The non-Malays, in particular the Chinese, are not naïve. They know who calls the shot in PN.

Still, PAS has no choice but to depend on Bersatu to get the Chinese support. But in reality, they do have another choice in the form of PN component – Gerakan.

Call it an act of desperation to woo non-Malay, especially the Chinese, Gerakan, according to analysts, are wading back to race and religion issues.

FMT reported Lau Zhe Wei of International Islamic University Malaysia as saying regardless of the narratives Gerakan’s choice to focus on its struggle to win over non-Malay votes will likely continue. In short, Gerakan cannot get non-Malay, especially Chinese, support.

So, are we to conclude that the Chinese will continue to support the DAP? But then we been also hearing grouses among some Chinese that the DAP is not its “old self” and of late there are signs of in-fighting.

But, will that be enough for the Chinese to support PN?

PAS and Bersatu are surely asking that very question!

(Mohsin Abdullah is a veteran journalist and now a freelancer who writes about this, that and everything else.)