In the last two elections, Chinese voters had thrown their weight behind the opposition. But there are those who claim this is no longer the case as the community has grown disenchanted due to the problems plaguing the opposition.

It is also said that segments of the community are also disappointed with the opposition for collaborating with former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad, given his past actions and incendiary remarks regarding the Chinese.

While the last two polls witnessed the BN and Umno still commanding overwhelming support among the Malay electorate, especially in rural areas, the opposition now claims that the next polls would witness a Malay tsunami.

However, MCA Youth chief Chong Sin Woon accused the opposition of peddling this claim because it is worried that Chinese voters are returning to BN.

“This was evident in the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-elections as well as surveys conducted by both MCA and DAP,” he was quoted as saying by The Star.

Chong claimed this was an attempt to spook the Chinese voters into joining the so-called dissatisfied Malays to cast their ballots against the incumbent federal government.

According to the MCA Youth leader, monthly surveys carried out by his party over the past two years showed that an average 35 percent of the Chinese electorate were now supporting BN.

“In 2013, it was only between 15% and 20%.

“Even DAP knows this from the surveys they have conducted and are worried, hence the claim of a Malay tsunami,” he added.

Chong attributed the decline of the Chinese community's support for the opposition to DAP's compromises following the demise of its national chairperson Karpal Singh.

“At that time, their main pillar was the late Karpal...

“With his passing, DAP compromised its values and was prepared to work with people like Mahathir,” he added.

Based on this scenario, Chong believes that BN and MCA would do better in the coming general election.

The absence of PAS in the current opposition coalition is also expected to affect Malay votes despite Mahathir positioning himself and his new party Parti Pribumi Malaysia Bersatu (Bersatu) as an alternative to Umno.

Given the political fatigue as well as the discontent towards both BN and the opposition, observers are also looking at the prospect of a lower voter turnout in the next polls.