The iconic U2 anthem “With or Without You” might well serve as the perfect soundtrack to the relationship between Umno, PAS, and DAP, marked by an unending cycle of dependency and antagonism.
In the latest chapter of this long-running saga, Kedah Umno strategic communications director Syed Johan Rizal Syed Unan Mashri highlighted that PAS was the first to “sanctify” DAP when it formed a coalition to overthrow the BN government back in 1999.
“We need to reclaim the views and perceptions of the people, especially the Malays. The propaganda and attacks against Umno are purely meant to divide our unity.
“If we look at the recent by-election in Ayer Kuning, (PAS president) Abdul Hadi Awang said Umno/BN won there because they succeeded in ‘sanctifying’ DAP. That’s a statement from a religious teacher,” he added, according to Umno Online.
Johan alleged that in cooperating with DAP, PAS was willing to shift its principles, even going so far as to elevate DAP leaders to the status of “caliphs”.
“Who first ‘sanctified’ DAP if not PAS? Who changed their principles from establishing an Islamic state to a welfare state when they formed an alliance with DAP before?
“Does Umno carry DAP’s flag? PAS has many photos holding DAP’s flag before. Have Umno’s imams, intellectuals, or religious scholars ever prayed in congregation in front of DAP’s office? Never. But PAS did.
“So, who wants to ‘sanctify’ DAP? The biggest thing they did was elevate Lim Guan Eng during the ‘PASDap’ era, equating him to caliph Umar Abdul Aziz. That’s what PAS did,” Johan said.
Cooperation doesn’t mean support
Elaborating further, the Kedah Umno leader asserted that his party continues to uphold its founding struggle, particularly with regard to Islam, the special position of the Malays, and the sovereignty of the Malay rulers.
“In the state of Kedah, where is DAP? We only have DAP candidates in Kota Darul Aman. Cooperation with DAP does not mean we support or endorse what they fight for.
“Up to this day, even though Umno is part of the unity government, we still oppose any statements and views from DAP concerning religion, the position of the Malays, and the Malay rulers that we disagree with,” he said.
Previously, Umno Veterans Club secretary-general Mustapha Yaakub sparked controversy when he likened DAP to a “wild horse” that has now been subdued.
“PAS tried to tame the wild horse that is DAP during their time together as ‘PasDap’ in the same stable. But PAS failed to ride DAP because they liked to ‘enter from the back’, which led to them being kicked by the wild horse. Eventually, PAS withdrew and left the stable.
“Today, that once wild horse, now nearly tame, is with Umno and is becoming even more docile within the BN-Pakatan Harapan stable,” he said.
PAS first allied with DAP during the 10th general election in 1999 under the Barisan Alternatif coalition. Although the alliance faltered, both parties revived their cooperation under a new banner - Pakatan Rakyat - which endured from 2008 to 2015.
In a parallel turn of events, Umno and DAP, once bitter political adversaries, now grapple with the challenge of defending their uneasy alliance to their respective support bases - each struggling to reconcile decades of hostility with newfound cooperation.
PAS and DAP continue to exploit each other’s image, using mutual fear and distrust as tools to consolidate their respective support bases. - Mkini
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