Analyst tells Umno: Umno-PAS combo insufficient to reclaim Putrajaya

 

Political pundits do not share Umno's confidence that the combo of Umno-PAS alone can reclaim Putrajaya as the Malay-based parties need to cooperate with other parties to attract the support in mixed constituencies.

For one, Ilham Centre Research fellow Hamidin Abd Hamid argued that the acceptance of an Umno-PAS combo by voters in Sabah and Sarawak would remain a question mark.

"If only Umno and PAS are in-charge of the cooperation, they will not be able to control Parliament as they desire.

"They have to secure the cooperation from mixed-race) parties in order to win the mixed seats and the urban areas, particular in Sabah and Sarawak," Hamidin told Malaysiakini.

Yesterday, Umno vice-president Mohamed Khaled Nordin openly said Umno and PAS were sufficient to ensure Malay dominance and political stability and that the space is a little bit too crowded for any more parties.

Khaled said Umno's mission now is to regain power at the federal level, through BN and in cooperation with PAS.

Mohamed Khaled Nordin

For the record, Umno controls 38 parliamentary seats in the Dewan Rakyat, making it the biggest party in the ruling coalition, Perikatan Nasional.

While noting that Umno is more comfortable working with PAS in Muafakat Nasional, Khaled, however, pointed out that both parties must deal with the challenge of overlapping claims in Malay-majority seats.

This is particularly so, he said, as PAS would not have it easy to retain its grip on the three states of Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah.

It is possible for PAS to contest in other Malay-majority seats, which are also laid claim by Umno, he said.

"They (Umno) are more at ease working with PAS as Muafakat Nasional was formed when Bersatu was still part of Pakatan Harapan. That's why Khaled and certain groups in Umno do not easily accept the existence of Bersatu in Muafakat," he said.

Meanwhile, Omar Rusdi, a senior lecturer at Universiti Utara Malaysia, agreed that Muafakat remained strong as a coalition for now, but there was no guarantee as to what would happen in the future.

"This is because they have different agendas. If they share the same agenda, then there is no problem, but they have different views in the formation of the Perikatan Nasional government," Omar said.

"I don't deny that Muafakat is strong… but recently, the relationship between both parties has become strained because they have different views on the formation of the PN government," he said.

Concurring with Hamidin, Omar said the goal of taking over Putrajaya can be achievable, through cooperation with other parties that could attract votes in the Borneo states.

In order to salvage the situation, he said, PN may need to compromise by reshuffling the federal cabinet in order to please the parties that control the most parliamentarian seats.

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia's Azmi Hassan said the Bersatu-led PN should find a way to stay on, without being dominated by Muafakat Nasional.

"Currently, Bersatu's position in PN is strong, it is just that the PN is not strong without Umno," Azmi said.

"In order to ensure the survival of PN, Umno must be part of the coalition to prevent Muafakat from taking over the role of PN (as the ruling government)," he said.

"Umno is more inclined to be with Muafakat, as compared with PN. That's the current scenario. The decision on whether to choose Muafakat or PN as the backbone of the Malay party lies with PAS, not Umno or Bersatu," Azmi added. - Mkini