Umno wants to work with PAS to secure two-thirds majority in Parliament, says Husam

Umno wants to work with Selangor PAS with the hope that the Islamist party will help its arch-rival secure the elusive two-thirds majority needed in the upcoming redelineation of parliamentary constituencies, Datuk Husam Musa (pic) said today.

In his article published in PAS's organ Harakah, Husam said that a PAS and Umno government in Selangor is just the beginning but the bigger prize would be the numbers needed to secure the two-thirds majority in Parliament.

"The main intention of this team is to gather a two-thirds support in Parliament to approve the increase in the number of seats in Parliament to strengthen the Malay political power.

"Selangor is their nearest bait," Husam wrote in his article, adding that he was confident that Umno's efforts will meet a dead end.

He suggested that a faction aligned to Umno Deputy President Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin's team was behind the move.

Currently, Umno and its coalition partners in Barisan Nasional (BN) have 134 parliamentary seats while the Islamist party has 21 seats. The combined seats from PAS will help the BN surpass the two-thirds majority of 148 seats to amend the constitution and redraw the electoral boundries.

“I know there is a well-planned effort from some in Umno to inject their agenda into PAS, especially from the TPM ‘s team,” he said, referring to the Deputy Prime Minister by his designation's Malay acronym.

Husam said they believed that once they had gained control of some of the “institutions in PAS, PAS will march according to their tune.”

Husam said those behind the move had failed to realise that the Islamist party was not like Umno where the supreme council will set an agenda and the delegates at the assembly would endorse it.

He was commenting on the rumours of a unity government being formed comprising Umno and PAS in Selangor.

"I say that it is not only hard, but impossible. Not only in terms of numbers but also in principle, implementation and the short-term and long-term effects and the dynamism of all parties involved," the Salor assemblyman said in Harakah.

According to Hussam, the PAS central committee would have to endorse any move to bring in  former PKR asssemblymen to obtain the numbers to form a government in Selangor with Umno.

"I don't see their membership being approved by PAS central committee. There are many reasons why I hold this opinion but I feel I don't have to explain it here.

"The thing is, their membership will not be accepted," he added.

He said that trying to capture Selangor through PAS would mean a frightening divide would emerge along racial and religious line in Malaysian politics.

Umno would get additional support from Malay voters with PAS's support but it will also push away non-Malay voters from BN.

"Non-Malay voters would then support Pakatan Rakyat without PAS. Malaysia would be split into half," he wrote, adding that Malays would give strong support to the government while the non-Malays would be the opposition.

- TMI