PAS is keeping its options for political collaboration open with party deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man’s latest proposal for a larger coalition, since ties with Umno are on the rocks, political observers said.

Behind the call is also the desire to make PAS’s Muafakat Nasional fling with Umno a more lasting union, some analysts added.

Ilham Centre executive director Hisommudin Bakar said there are still leaders in PAS – such as Nik Abduh Nik Abdul Aziz and Khairuddin Aman Razali – who want continued political co-operation with Umno, despite PAS’s support for Umno’s rival, Bersatu.

This is more so with the general election just around the corner.

“These figures in PAS came a long way to reach the negotiations they had with Umno to form MN. Bersatu was not in the picture then.

“They were just Umno and PAS at that time after both were defeated in the 2018 general election,” Hisommudin said.

However, he said the idea would be hard to implement.

“Umno made it clear in their general assembly earlier this year that it would not accept Bersatu no matter what happens.

“I also do not see how the strain between Umno and Bersatu can be reduced. Maybe they can talk to PAS but not Bersatu,” he added.

MN was formed in 2019, a year after Umno lost federal power for the first time. The pact’s purpose is to unite the strengths of the two traditional rival Malay-Muslim parties to face a common enemy: Pakatan Harapan (PH).

However, ties between both parties have become strained after PAS continued to court Bersatu, uniting under the Perikatan Nasional banner, which toppled the PH government last year.

Umno has refused to work with Bersatu, although both parties are in the government coalition.

Over the weekend, at PAS’s anniversary event in Terengganu, Tuan Ibrahim proposed a new coalition as a solution to lessen the political strain between the three parties.

He said the new coalition need not necessarily be seen from a political perspective, as unity is needed in many common areas of interest.

His comment came after Umno said it will decide on its relationship with PAS and the future of MN at the Umno general assembly next month.

Author and PAS observer Sayuti Omar, concurred with Hisommudin, adding that PAS is still trying to “play in two ponds” with Umno and Bersatu.

“It is true that certain PAS members still want to work with Umno, but in the bigger picture, they also know they need Bersatu.

“Yet at the same time, they do not want to lose Umno, which they know can help them in the general election.

“They know in some areas, Bersatu would be a good ally and in other areas, Umno is better. PAS wants to create a “third pond” for it to have both Umno and Bersatu,” Sayuti, who has authored several political books, said.

However, he noted that Umno has made it clear it wants to go solo (without the help of any other Malay-Muslim party) in the coming election.

Sayuti added that Tuan Ibrahim’s mention of including Sabah and Sarawak in his idea for a bigger coalition is just for show.

“In reality PAS only wants Umno and Bersatu. The east Malaysian parties are just seasoning, to make ideas sound and smell good.”

Last month, Nik Mohamad Abduh Nik Abdul Aziz, the son of late PAS spiritual leader Nik Abdul Aziz Nik Mat, said MN must be preserved because it was no mean feat to have united two great political rivals.

His remarks followed PAS’s failure to win any of the seats it contested as part of PN in the recent Malacca elections, although its share of votes increased compared to the 2018 general election.

While PAS decides whether to continue in PN, Nik Abduh said differences of opinion must not lead to MN’s break up.

Meanwhile, Universiti Teknologi Malaysia’s Mazlan Ali said PAS knows it needs the support of other political parties to stand in the general election.

“PAS cannot go solo. It did a good job in Malacca with PN, so it knows it has a good chance, but it cannot rely on the coalition in other areas. It needs Umno too.”

“Ironically, Umno Selangor happened to realise this. Recently, Noh Omar – the MP for Tanjung Karang – asked Umno to reconsider its cooling relationship with PAS because Noh knows that in Selangor Umno might need PAS,” Mazlan said.

Last month, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang said MN was finished and it would prefer to be in PN.

The Marang MP said MN was an incomplete union without the participation of the non-Malays.

He said PAS could still accept MN but only if it is not in conflict with PN’s larger and more powerful agenda of uniting the people. – December 16, 2021.