Grassroots pressure mounts for UMNO–PAS alliance revival

 

UMNO is grappling with what its president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi called the absurdities of politics.

In his speech during the UMNO general assembly last week, he highlighted the contradiction of UMNO governing with long-time rival DAP at the federal level while opposing it in state elections, particularly in Sabah.

Zahid said political cooperation today is inconsistent and often differs between federal and state contexts.

His remarks highlighted UMNO’s balancing act: allowing grassroots attacks on DAP while remaining coalition partners, rejecting a formal alliance with PAS yet pursuing Muslim unity, and preparing to contest GE16 independently.

The theme dominated UMNO’s general assembly as the party navigates conflicting alliances and electoral pressures.

UMNO members remain deeply divided over the party’s political direction ahead of the next general election, with one faction advocating continued cooperation with DAP within the unity government, while another strongly pushes for a revival of the old alliance with PAS.

Speaking to The Straits Times Singapore, Datuk Bastien Onn, a Johor UMNO grassroots leader, described PAS as a far more attractive political ally for UMNO compared to DAP.

He said both UMNO and PAS share numerous common interests, particularly in safeguarding Malay and Islamic priorities, making cooperation more natural and sustainable.

In contrast, the appeal of partnering with DAP has diminished significantly following the party’s complete wipeout in the November 2025 Sabah state election, where urban Chinese voters decisively rejected DAP’s leadership and influence.

“Unthinkably, we saw DAP lose support in urban areas. Previously, the UMNO leadership promoted the idea that DAP could pull in Chinese support to ensure our candidates’ victory in marginal seats,” Straits Times quoted him as saying.

“Now, that formula is wrong,” he added. With pressure mounting among party grassroots for a formal alliance with PAS and for the party to leave the Madani government now, Zahid appears to have capitulated.

He suggested that the party is open to a political pact with the Islamist party and spoke of an informal grouping that would assemble all Malay-led parties under one roof.

He called it the grand collaboration, but it can only be subject to one key condition, that it must not disrupt or undermine the coalition government led by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.

Veteran UMNO leader Nazri Aziz, 72, told the Singapore portal that an electoral pact with PH to avoid seat clashes would benefit UMNO more than an alliance with PAS and Bersatu.

He warned that partnering with PAS would force UMNO to “close shop” in Kelantan and Terengganu, as PAS, the incumbent, would claim most seats.

Nazri described Mr Zahid’s “kepelikan politik” admission as proof that political clarity is fading. Can UMNO realistically fight and befriend the same rivals at the same time, he wondered. — Focus Malaysia