PAS cannot hope to avoid clashing with Umno at the next general election (GE15) as it will in the Melaka polls this month if it continues to stick with Bersatu, says a political analyst.
Oh Ei Sun of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs said PAS must ultimately decide whether it wants to side with Umno or Bersatu at GE15.
He was commenting on PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man’s remarks that the “friendly” clashes in Melaka would not occur in GE15.
Oh said the Melaka elections meant it was always going to be difficult to prevent Umno clashing with PAS, which is part of Perikatan Nasional along with Bersatu.
“The general election is likely to be months away, so there is time for Umno and PAS to negotiate, but it would still depend on where PAS stands, especially after the Melaka elections.”
He said should PAS stick with Bersatu heading into GE15, it would be as Bersatu’s equal because Bersatu had very little grassroots support and would need to rely heavily on the PAS machinery.
“If PAS sides with Umno, the advantage is that Barisan Nasional is more likely to form the government and could well implement the policies PAS wants. The disadvantage, of course, is that Umno would almost always play the big brother in such a relationship,” he said.
Oh said PAS simply would not be able to attain its ideal of having both Umno and Bersatu as allies because the two parties are natural rivals.
Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid, a professor of political science at Universiti Sains Malaysia said PAS must prioritise Muafakat Nasional over Perikatan Nasional if it does not want to clash with Umno again.
He did not rule out the possibility that Umno and Bersatu could still work together for GE15, especially if Pakatan Harapan wins in Melaka as a result of split votes among the Malay community.
“But PAS would have to put MN ahead of PN, and facilitate a compromise between Umno and Bersatu,” he told FMT.
Fauzi said this was because MN preceded PN and was based on uniting the Malays, whereas PN is a political entity. “By siding with Bersatu in PN, PAS is giving the impression that political expediency trumps other considerations, even religious ones.”
In any case, Fauzi said even if BN were to go solo at GE15, it could still benefit from attracting more non-Malay and liberal Malay voters, as the rigid conservatism of PAS, especially under Hadi Awang’s leadership, tended to “repel” non-Malays and secular-minded Muslims.
Source: Free Malaysia Today
