PAS and PKR have not been able to master the skills to influence the Malay grassroots, thus failing to overcome the constant media onslaught on Pakatan Rakyat by Umno, said a PAS leader.

NONE Parit Buntar parliamentarian Mujahid Yusof Rawa ( rigbt ) said the lack of tactics and strategies to challenge Umno at this level is one of the main reasons for the declining Malay support for Pakatan.

"Sadly, may be to a certain extent, PAS and PKR have not mastered the skills to influence the grassroots...although I will not say we have failed," he told Malaysiakini.

"But we need to come up with more tactics and strategies to use the current facilities of the state government to get more information and programmes out to the people," he added.

"The mainstream media, especially the Malay language dailies, are carrying on a massive offensive campaign against Pakatan compared to our efforts."

Lately, news about demolishment of hawker stalls and home of the community have been given prominence in the Malay media, despite the action by the municipal councils affecting all ethnic groups.

NONE Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng ( left ) denied that the state was marginalising the Malays, saying that action was always taken based on the law, and not on race.

Mujahid, like his comrades in PAS, has r easons to be concerned as support for his party had been steadily declining in the past few by-elections, starting from Manek Urai, to Galas and Tenang.

The Manek Urai polls saw a dip in PAS' winning majority from 1,352 to a slim 65 and its failure to retain Galas, while the Malay-majority polling districts in the Tenang state seat saw reduced support for Pakatan Rakyat.

 Mechanisms to overcome propaganda

And it is not that Pakatan has not tried to address the worrying decline.

Mujahid said Pakatan has in place certain mechanisms to overcome Umno's propaganda, for example, coordinators have been assigned to bring the messages of the state government to the people.

These coordinators appointed by the respective parties and assigned to places where it has lost in the last general election, are also provided with allocation from the state to address the needs on the ground.

However, this appears insufficient to fight the incessant attacks by Umno in their party controlled media.

Mujahid concedes with views of his colleagues in PKR that the main drop in Malay support towards Pakatan is the media's successful portrayal of the state administration as "anti-Malay and anti-Islam".

"The Malays are affected by the influence of the media orchestra since it may be the only form of media they are exposed to everyday...there is a massive psy-war going on," he said.

"The Chinese community, on the other hand, has other sources of alternative news like the internet or other independent publications," he added.

Umno has responded to all these allegations by saying that there was nothing to prevent Pakatan from owning their own media agencies.

Penang Umno leaders have instead blamed Pakatan assembly reps for not doing enough for the people to capture or maintain their

 Interfering Umno

The truth is, Mujahid said, Umno cannot address the real problems of the Malays; they had failed to do so in the last 50 years, which is why they lost in 2008.

"But when we address the problems of the Malays, for example, those related to development and eviction, Umno always interfere s ," he said.

"I don't mean to say we are all 100 percent effective but Umno is exaggerating in most cases...targeting the Malays when other communities were also affected by the development projects," he added.

Mujahid was referring to recent case of Jalan Kampong Pokok Assam , where houses, built in the area generations ago, had to give way to a massive development project.

Pakatan officials had managed to negotiate with the developer to obtain a reasonable compensation package for the residents, which included replacement units in the same location.

However, a few families are still unhappy with the packages offered by the developer, who has already started work in the area.

"I am afraid that the people influenced by the disruption (by Umno) will lose out in the end," Mujahid said.