More will join Shafie's new movement, analysts predict

The wave of defections to join former Umno vice-president Shafie Apdal's new party may grow stronger, analysts predict.

And it won't just be defections from opposition parties PKR and DAP, they said.

"Shafie is an influential leader. The ripples of his influence will surely be felt, and it can trigger a wave of leaders leaving BN," analyst Ahmad Atory Hussain told Malaysiakini.

Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) professor Andrew Aeria echoed this sentiment, saying that overemphasis on 'Kuala Lumpur' (Peninsular Malaysia) issues, are driving the move to local-based parties.