BERSATU will be able to improve its electoral performance in Kelantan and several other states, thanks to PAS, grassroots leaders and political analysts said.

This means it is looking at better support in Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah, where PAS is strong, as well as in northern Perak and Pahang.

Bersatu Pasir Mas division chief Che Johan Che Pa told The Malaysian Insight that Bersatu will benefit from PAS’s established infrastructure and grassroots support.

“Bersatu will do better in Kelantan in the coming polls compared to the previous general election when it contested with Pakatan Harapan (PH),” he said.

Then, Bersatu failed to win any of the eight parliamentary seats it contested in Kelantan and further lost its deposit in five assembly seats.

Its gains in Kelantan have only been made on the backs of others, such as when the Umno MPs for Jeli (Mustapa Mohamed) and Tanah Merah (Ikmal Hisham Abdul Aziz) defected to the party after the last general election.

There will be 14 parliamentary and 45 state seats up for grabs in Kelantan at the next election.

Bersatu and PAS became formal partners in the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition after Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin took the party out of PH, leading to the collapse of the coalition’s fledgling government in February 2020.

Last weekend, the PN Kelantan chapter was launched in Tanah Merah with much fanfare and 30,000 people in attendance. It was seen as confirmation that Bersatu and PAS are set to work together for the next national poll.

Che Johan admitted that without PAS, Bersatu will find contesting in Kelantan very difficult.

“Bersatu has weak machinery. There are also leaders who are not well accepted by the grassroots here.

“I say this not to embarrass Bersatu, but as a grassroots leader I want this weakness to be improved, especially with the next election coming,” he said.

Che Johan said local issues in Kelantan – such as complaints about the PAS state government’s handling of running water and logging issues – will not affect Bersatu.

The main issue in the general election will be the cost of living, and if there is anything against PAS, it would be about the performance of its party’s leaders in the federal government.

However, Che Johan said any issues about PAS ministers could be balanced with the support the Islamic party would also gain through PN and Muhyiddin’s leadership.

Muhyiddin was prime minister after toppling PH from power, and he gave cabinet posts and GLC appointments to PAS politicians.

In Tanah Merah, the Bersatu division chief Bahari Mohd Nor also agreed that Bersatu would benefit from having PAS in PN.

“PAS is dominant here and since we are part of the same coalition, we will be able to attract Malay voters with PAS’s help.”

Bahari said these Malay voters would be those who reject Umno but won’t vote for PH either because they do not like DAP.

However, for all the positivity it remains to be seen whether Bersatu and PAS can successfully negotiate seat allocations for the state.

Bahari admitted that this will have to be decided by the leaders of both parties.

So far, Kelantan Bersatu is said to be eyeing eight seats currently controlled by Umno, Bahari added.

Who else but PAS?

Nationally, Bersatu is seen as weak, having gained MPs since the last election solely due to defections from other parties.

Meanwhile, after losing Ampang MP Zuraida Kamaruddin, Bersatu may also lose another two more lawmakers from Sarawak.

It does makes sense for Bersatu to co-operate with PAS, since Umno and PH have rejected the Islamist party.

Bersatu and PAS complement each other in the current political landscape, political analysts said.

Ilham Center director Hisommudin Bakar said Bersatu and PAS would have been spurred to continue their co-operation after seeing support for PN in the Johor and Malacca state elections.

PAS was able to double its backing as part of PN, something it could not have achieved if it had contested alone.

“PAS’s good performance can continue in the next election through the increased support for PN that is expected in Pahang and northern Perak,” Hisommudin, who regularly conducts polls and qualitative analysis on voter sentiments, said.

“They will maintain the status quo in states they have won (Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah) and increase their support in states that they lost previously.”

Hisommudin also said PN will want to take advantage of the internal discord within Umno at the moment, while PH is tied up with its memorandum of understanding (MOU) with Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob not to rock the boat too much, so that elections are called next year rather than sooner.

“We are not really seeing PH’s preparation for national polls, but PN, having made inroads in the Johor elections and its recent launch of PN Kelantan in Tanah Merah, looks as if it is experiencing a revival.

Political analyst Mazlan Ali agreed, saying Bersatu will be able to split Malay votes and threaten Umno.

“Bersatu voters are a mixed group of Malays who traditionally used to support Umno, and ‘progressive’ Malays who still reject DAP.

In the Johor elections in March, PN won three seats out of 56. Mazlan believed that voters had forsaken PH for PN. – July 7, 2022.