Pakatan Harapan's decision to choose Dr Mahathir Mohamad as their candidate for prime minister will help the coalition draw Malay support, while alienating those loyal to PAS, said several analysts.

Although it is difficult to estimate the number of PAS supporters in peninsular Malaysia, the party wields significant influence on the Malay electorate, as shown during the Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar by-elections, in which the party bagged 21 percent and 25 percent of the vote respectively in three-way fights.

Wan Saiful Wan Jan, who leads prominent think-tank Institute for Democracy and Economic Affairs (Ideas), believes that Mahathir will open new doors for Harapan among the Malay electorate, but close old doors as well...