UMNO is forced to back PAS for its own political destiny, even if it has to follow the Islamist party’s declaration of support for Dr Mahathir Mohamad as prime minister, said political analysts.

They said that Umno is left with no choice on this matter as it would then have to break its political pact with PAS.

Malay-Muslim unity is the basis of Umno’s decision and not the current criminal charges faced by some of its leaders, they said.

“Umno needs PAS. Without PAS, Umno is weak. Dr Mahathir is also aware that Bersatu won’t sustain without the support of the Malays,” said Dr Mazlan Ali of UTM.

Abdul Halim Sidek of UiTM said it would be difficult for Umno to make a political comeback without PAS support.

“The new political pact with PAS has cleaned up Umno’s image and improved the trust among the people,” he said.

They were commenting on rumours that Umno is looking into a new political alignment in the country along with PAS and Dr Mahathir’s Bersatu.

The idea is to form a new government without PKR president Anwar Ibrahim and his supporters, and DAP.

A leaked audio clip features Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi revealing his intentions of a possible alliance with Dr Mahathir to ensure the party’s survival and future.

The matter was revealed by Umno Supreme Council member Lokman Noor Adam on Monday.

According to Lokman, Zahid gave several reasons Umno should cooperate with Dr Mahathir and Bersatu, partly because PAS is doing so and the party can’t risk being left behind.

According to UTM’s Mazlan, there are two possible ideas for establishing a new coalition.

The first, he said, is that Dr Mahathir is trying to undermine Umno and PAS’ cooperation through muafakat nasional which is strong at the moment.

“This is what we can see in some of the by-elections when BN and muafakat nasional combined, they produce extraordinary results.

“Second, Dr Mahathir is trying to send a signal to DAP that he has other options. If DAP continues to make claims that are chauvinistic, then he has other choices.”

Halim said the parties involved in the supposed new political alignment have the same goal of removing DAP from being part of the government.

“PAS is supportive of not wanting PKR president Anwar Ibrahim to become prime minister and allowing DAP to remain in power.

“With the strength of muafakat nasional, there is no need to cooperate with Bersatu, except to remove DAP from the government.

“If this happens, I am confident that there will be a significant change in the national unity and the county’s economy,” he said.

Grassroots views

Selangor Umno Youth vice-president Amin Mohd Syukor said the party leadership must take into account the voice of the grassroots and the people if it wants to move along the idea of forming a new political alignment.

“For me, they must take into account the sentiments of the members, the people and the community which is top priority. They need to hear their thoughts and opinions.

“Although the consensus is with the leadership, without support of grassroots, there will be no leadership.”

Amin also said members may not be able to accept any attempt to form a government by denying their democratic rights.

He also agreed with Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan, who said the formation of a backdoor government would undermine public confidence in the democratic process.

Umno vice-president Mohamed Khaled Nordin called on all parties to be patient and not to conclude anything as the proposal has not been decided by the party.

“Let’s not jump to conclusions. Don’t make wild accusations because I don’t have any information on the idea myself.

“I urge everyone to calm down and wait for the outcome of tomorrow’s (today) meeting. It may be raised during the meeting.” – February 7, 2020.