THE union between Umno and PAS after the 14th general election has failed to bring about any of the hoped-for political revivals both parties were banking on, said political analysts.

Instead, what initial political momentum gained by the Islamist party appears to have fizzled out more than a year after the polls, with little achievements to boast about.

Universiti Malaya lecturer Mohammad Tawfik Yaakub said no new policies have been formed in Kelantan, while the Terengganu government appears to only focus on claiming oil royalties from Putrajaya.

“A majority of PAS MPs are merely acting as religious advisers to Umno in Parliament as they are in the opposition bloc. They seem to have forgotten all their criticisms against Umno back when it was in power.

“PAS’ political direction has shifted towards race and religious extremism, unlike when the party was led by former president Fadzil Noor (from 1989 to 2002).

“As for the state government in Kelantan, there has been no change. They are simply continuing with previous policies,” he told The Malaysian Insight.

He said despite Terengganu now being led by a professional, Menteri Besar Dr Ahmad Shamsuri Mokhtar, the state government’s direction remains unclear.

“His main thrust appears to only be collecting the oil royalties.”

Tawfik said the party’s move towards religious extremism will only alienate it further from the majority of Malaysians, who support a moderate version of Islam when it comes to governance.

“PAS has lost sight of the Malaysian version of political Islam, which is more moderate. If it continues with the extreme version, it will be like the Taliban in Afghanistan and Middle Eastern countries.” 

Nothing more than a gimmick?

The PAS annual congress, to be held in Kuantan this week, is expected to see heated debates on the party’s future cooperation with Umno.

Pahang PAS commissioner Rosli Abdul Jabar said the debates will be aimed at deepening PAS-Umno ties.

“PAS will determine the conditions that will improve Islamic policies.”

Ilham Centre director Azlan Zainal said although PAS leaders in the east coast are cooperating with Umno, there is no ignoring the contentious history between the two parties in the Malay heartland.

“PAS and Umno are only working together politically so that they can regain power, but this is only a gimmick whereby both parties are willing to set aside ideological interests to regain power.

“Although PAS leaders are able to forgive and work with Umno after GE14, this sentiment is not shared by the grassroots.

“This is apparent in the states that have seen far more clashes between the two parties, such as Kelantan and Terengganu. It will be very difficult for older PAS members to embrace Umno, given the history between them.”

He said the parties also need to work out the technicalities and parameters of their partnership.

“They need to chart out how they intend to share power in the states they govern, and which seats go to which party.” – June 19, 2019.