Kuala Lampur, Aug. 16 -- The celebration of a so-called "Blue Wave" sweeping Malaysian politics risks confusing electoral arithmetic with political cohesion.

Barisan Nasional (BN) and Perikatan Nasional (PN) may discover that combining or "topping up" their respective vote banks can produce impressive electoral outcomes.

But votes that can be aggregated are not necessarily political organisations that can be integrated.

This distinction has been systematically overlooked.

The experiences of Johor and Negeri Sembilan can easily create the impression that BN and PN have discovered a formula capable of challenging Pakatan Harapan (PH): minimise competition among Malay-based parties, prevent excessive vote splitting and exploit Malaysia's...