Ramasamy: UMNO mooting of Muafakat Nasional’s revival sours greatly PAS-Bersatu’s cordiality

 

THE uneasiness between PAS and Bersatu might have predated the Perlis political crisis; nonetheless, the latter provided the catalyst for the resignation of Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as the chairman of PN to be followed by the Bersatu heads of PN in various states, including its secretary-general Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali.

The conflict between the two political parties has been simmering over a period of time over variety of political issues.

PAS dominance in terms of its electoral support, and the number of MPs and state assembly representatives, is superior to Bersatu. However, in terms of experience and national exposure, Bersatu has an edge over PAS.

I do not think there is anyone in PAS who can match the experience and national exposure of Muhyiddin, a long-time federal minister who later served as Malaysia’s eighth premier.

Similarly, Azmin, a former Selangor Menteri Besar and federal minister, is an important figure in Bersatu and the PN opposition coalition.

In comparison, despite having an electoral edge over Bersatu, PAS was agreeable to permit Muhyiddin to lead the PN coalition.

Muafakat Nasional revival

However, politics being what it is, the imbalance between PAS and Bersatu in terms of experience, political ideology and other factors became a source of friction.

Two developments brought the conflict between PAS and Bersatu into the open, leading to the resignations of Muhyiddin and others.

The first was the role of Bersatu elected representatives in undermining the Perlis Menteri Besar (MB), leading to his resignation.

The subsequent appointment of a Bersatu candidate as the new Menteri Besar added to the friction.

At a broader level, UMNO’s unhappiness with the Madani government in general – and in particular over how former prime minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has been treated – also became another source of tension.

The failure of Najib to obtain house arrest was a source of tremendous concern among UMNO members.

It was in this context that comments by some DAP leaders hailing the denial of Najib’s house arrest bid as a victory to be celebrated outraged the UMNO leadership to the extent that there were calls for UMNO to revive Muafakat Nasional (MN) to accommodate PAS.

This was seen as an attempt by UMNO to severe ties with DAP once and for all. If MN had been revived between UMNO and PAS, it would have dealt a major blow to the present ruling coalition with DAP pushed to the political margins.

PAS loses a non-Muslim ‘bridge’

Even if Bersatu had welcomed the idea of DAP being pushed out of government, the revival of MN would have been a direct affront to Bersatu’s continued prominence in Malaysian politics.

If MN were revived, PAS might well have said goodbye to Bersatu by embracing UMNO.

There was certainly quick thinking on the part of Muhyiddin in jettisoning the idea of MN’s revival by resigning as chairman of PN.

While there are claims that Muhyiddin’s resignation has strengthened PN, it is unquestionable that his departure has left a void in the opposition.

How PAS and Bersatu leaders are going to heal the rift remains uncertain. Given that elections – both state and federal – may not be too far away, the positioning of PN as the next alternative government appears to be in tatters.

The very idea of reviving MN between UMNO and PAS may have damaged the prospects of PN emerging as the next credible alternative government.

In a way, despite its monoethnic bias, Bersatu was seen as bridge between PN and the non-Malays in the country.

Given the extreme view of PAS, non-Malays are more comfortable with the Bersatu leaders like Muhyiddin and Azmin.

Now with Bersatu’s top brass having deserted PN, there might be difficulty in establishing ties with non-Malays in the country.

Anyway, there is nothing to prevent Muhyiddin from strengthening and broadening the larger opposition coalition of Ikatan Prihatin Rakyat (IPR), a loose opposition coalition of 12 political parties outside the government bloc. 

Former DAP stalwart and Penang deputy chief minister II Prof Ramasamy Palanisamy is chairman of the United Rights of Malaysian Party (Urimai) interim council.

The views expressed are solely of the author and do not necessarily reflect those of  MMKtT.

- Focus Malaysia.