PAS needs to come clean on whether it will cooperate with traditional nemesis Umno, an analyst and a party leader said, following the latest suggestion from the Islamist party’s a top adviser that both parties should work together.

The suggestion from former PAS election director Mustafa Ali comes as several studies predicted that the Islamist party will be the biggest loser in the 14th general election if took on both Umno and rival opposition coalition Pakatan Harapan.

Mustafa, who now heads PAS’ board of advisers, had urged his party to open negotiations with Umno for the “sake of the country”.

“(Mustafa) believes that PAS going at it alone is dangerous for the party. So, he wants PAS to make a clear stand,” said analyst Hisomuddin Bakar of the Ilham Centre think tank.

Mustafa’s call to PAS to consider accepting Umno’s offer of political cooperation follows recent statements by the ruling party’s information chief, Annuar Musa, that the two traditionally bitter foes should work together in GE14.

“PAS should accept Umno’s offer to discuss possible cooperation,” Mustafa had said yesterday.

Mustafa, who has been dropped ahead of the next election, said his party could win more votes but it was unlikely that this would mean more seats. PAS could even end up with fewer seats, he added.

Since PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang said that the party no longer had any “chemistry” with PH, it could no longer work with the opposition pact, Mustafa had said.

As such, the only viable option left was to work with Umno, Mustafa said.

Mustafa, however, stressed that Umno-PAS cooperation did not mean that the latter had to join the Barisan Nasional ruling coalition, which Umno leads.

In the aftermath of the May 1969 racial riots, PAS had joined with Umno to form Barisan Nasional in 1972, only to withdraw from the coalition in 1977 after growing friction with the Malay nationalist party.

Mustafa’s suggestion did not come as a surprise given that GE14 will see multi-cornered contests now that PAS had formed a separate political coalition, said its Poko Sena MP Mahfuz Omar.

After ending ties with PH parties PKR and DAP, PAS formed a third coalition called Gagasan Sejahtera Rakyat. Gagasan is expected to contest against PH and BN in at least 100 parliamentary seats.

Analysts had said that multi-cornered contests would benefit BN as votes going to the opposition parties would split. PAS is expected to lose heavily in three-cornered fights.

“Mustafa’s statement shows that he wants PAS to contest in straight fights.”

In the past, Mustafa had pushed for PAS’ leadership to form an electoral pact with PH parties PKR and Bersatu in order to ensure straight fights.

“But after that did not work out, he wants PAS to work with Umno, not go at it alone,” said Mahfuz.

“Mustafa knows that PAS would get the least amount of votes in a multi-cornered contest.”

Mahfuz, agreed with Mustafa in that if PAS could not work with PH it had to work with Umno.

Mustafa’s statement also meant that PAS should be open and transparent about working with Umno.

“Negotiations should be done in an open manner and they should not be hidden behind fancy terms,” said Mahfuz.

Before it broke off ties with PKR in May, certain PAS leaders had attempted to forge an electoral pact with the party in order toprevent multi-cornered fights.

But these attempts have been scuttled after party delegates at its annual assembly decided to end ties and to form Gagasan Sejahtera Rakyat.

In September, Annuar of Umno had said that the Malay party was still open to working with PAS.

The Umno Supreme Council has entrusted its president Najib Razak to work out whatever form of cooperation the two political enemies will forge. – October 23, 2017.