IT has finally come to PAS, the final curtain fall of what little remains of the once almost unbreakable Pakatan Rakyat.

The three-party coalition once heralded as a highly potential replacement of Barisan Nasional, forcefully and hastily huddled together by intense pressure by a dissatisfied electorate, forged through multiple attempts to drive a wedge between them, unravelled with as much fanfare as a second sodomy allegation against a former deputy prime minister.

What happened?

Was it a bad romance?

A careless whisper campaign gone wrong?

Did PAS have a total eclipse of the heart?

Nobody knows for sure.

PAS is a proud party, with little qualms about going at it alone, staunchly placing their trust in their religious leaders and believing that every victory or failure is an act of God, and that the outcome of every election is exactly what they should undergo at that time. With a growing traditional support demographic and the patience to match, this isn’t a party that’s in a hurry to go anywhere.

DAP and PKR however, may not have as much time, as their urban-liberal support base are pragmatic in life as they are in voting, meaning they are having smaller families and are leaving the country in search of better economic opportunities abroad - by the thousands. This, coupled with the lack of surety of fixed electoral borders, leads to a steadily decreasing support base.

They could not be more ideologically different from each other, either. It was always apparent from the beginning that within PAS, some were uncomfortable with working with parties so… un-Islamic, while some believed this to be the only way to overthrow the ruling government.

The Amanah breakway, therefore, was something waiting to happen from Day One.

Which makes the present Selangor government both the most mature, if not most hypocritical, arrangement in Malaysian politics today.

Here you have politicians from both DAP and PAS, who can come together in the Dewan and sit together in the Exco, to make decisions and govern a state so well, you continually earn praise from the Auditor-General, and even your state Ruler.

Yet outside the SUK, the amount of heckling and taunts between the parties belie the happy photographs and cordial Hansard exchanges.

With the resolution at the recently concluded Muktamar and the subsequent announcements thereafter, it is clear that PAS is ready to head into the next General Elections without their old allies, calling at least DAP openly as an enemy to Islam, and by logical extension to that, an enemy of PAS, reminiscent of Umno’s own tagline.

But how do you take on an enemy that operates in a largely different political platform and support base from yours?

And how exactly does working with UMNO on common issues translate into the elections? In most Umno seats, the face-off is traditionally with PAS, not DAP.

Likewise, how does DAP plan to ‘defend’ the electorate from PAS’ hudud proposition and ideas when they too, traditionally take on MCA-Gerakan-MIC in the elections?

If the difference is ideological, the battlegrounds would be public debates, not elections-oriented campaigns. So for the two parties to go at each other’s throats would be a waste of time and resources better spent gearing up for the elections. It would also help lower national political and maybe even racial-religious temperatures.

Unless they are just looking to be each other’s boogeyman.

Either way, there are too many shades of grey in Selangor politics at the moment – with old alliances gone and new ones rather uncertain. Stances on important issues like the RUU355 and who will be MB are too important to be left in limbo.

Perhaps some black and white before the next elections will help the voters decide better. Surely after eight years of loyal support, they deserve that much. – May 15, 2017.

* Emmanuel Joseph firmly believes that Klang is the best place on Earth, and that motivated people can do far more good than any leader with motive.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.