WILL THE OPPOSITION STAND BEHIND DR SAM?   For all the symbolism surrounding Ahmad Samsuri’s elevation, the key question is whether he can consolidate authority within the coalition and expand PN’s electoral map.  PN has long struggled to win over non-Malay and urban voters, largely due to its conservative positions on gender roles, LGBTQ issues, alcohol and gambling, as well as its longstanding push for hudud, or Islamic criminal law.  The coalition’s ideological posture has entrenched scepticism among minority communities, especially since PAS remains the largest individual party with 43 seats in Parliament’s lower house of 222 members.  Post-GE15 analyses by think tanks such as Ilham Center and Merdeka Center show that support for PN among Chinese and Indian voters hovered in the single digits to low teens. In contrast, backing among Malay-Muslims stood at roughly 60 to 70 per cent nationwide. That disparity has shaped PN’s post-election calculus. The coalition’s leadership broadly recognises that without inroads into constituencies with sizable non-Malay voters, its path to forming the next federal government remains narrow. Against this backdrop, some analysts …