Analyst doubts PAS-Gerakan peace pact will last

 

(L-R) PN’s top brass, Hamzah Zainudin, Dominic Lau, Ahmad Faizal Azumu, Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, P Punithan and Takiyuddin Hassan met recently to resolve the feud between PAS and Gerakan. (Facebook pic)

PETALING JAYA: 

An analyst has cast doubt over the lasting nature of a peace pact brokered by Bersatu for PAS and Gerakan following a recent dispute between the two parties over the funding of vernacular schools.

Universiti Malaya’s Awang Azman Pawi said he was uncertain about Bersatu’s ability to mediate effectively between the two Perikatan Nasional components over the longer-term given the dominant role PAS plays in the opposition coalition and the strength of its grassroots support.

Taking these factors into account, Awang Azman said Gerakan’s continued presence in PN depends almost entirely on PAS.

Awang Azman Pawi.

The existing ‘peace’ depends on what issues may surface (in the future) and PAS’s own interests. (It) depends on what PAS believes would enable it to gain greater political advantage,

 he told FMT.

Oh Ei Sun of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs also points to Bersatu’s declining influence in PN, saying PAS is 

increasingly dictating terms

 in the coalition.

PAS appears more than happy to usher Gerakan out of the PN gate into political tundra,

 he said.

Moving forward, Oh expects Gerakan to toe PAS’s line, as leaving PN may not be a viable option for the party given it only has a solitary elected representative who occupies a state seat in Kedah.

(The peace) may or may not last, but it doesn’t matter in the least, as Gerakan does not add any electoral value to PN,

 he said.

PAS and Gerakan have recently bickered over the funding of Chinese schools by breweries.

At the height of the feud Gerakan’s deputy president Oh Tong Keong warned that Gerakan would not hesitate to quit PN if its coalition allies continue to display 

religious extremism

.

In response, PAS vice-president Amar Abdullah said Gerakan was free to leave if it wished to.

Meanwhile, in Johor, Gerakan’s youth wing announced it had cut ties with its PAS counterpart over the issue, a move which the latter dismissed as 

hasty

.

Bersatu deputy president Ahmad Faizal Azumu then said his party was willing to play the role of mediator to prevent ties between PAS and Gerakan from straining further.

On Saturday, PN secretary-general Hamzah Zainudin announced that the dispute had been resolved amicably.

Hamzah said the matter had been put to rest after a meeting between PAS deputy president Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man, its secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan, Gerakan president Dominic Lau, Malaysian Indian People’s Party president P Punithan, Faizal and himself. - FMT