Umno and PAS set to clash in three states

 

Umno and PAS formed Muafakat Nasional in September 2019 as an electoral understanding with the main aim of uniting the Malay-Muslim vote.

PETALING JAYA: With seat talks going sour, the tension between PAS and Umno is building up in Kedah, Terengganu and Kelantan.

Although some Umno leaders at federal level are keen on continuing to work with PAS, a political analyst claims he has information that the story is different at the grassroots level.

“At the state level, there are challenges,” said Mohd Azizuddin Sani of Universiti Utara Malaysia. “Umno grassroots members in the three states do not want to share seats with PAS, and PAS wants more seats as it feels these are its stronghold states.”

He told FMT discussions in Terengganu had turned hostile. “Neither side is willing to give in. Both are demanding more seats and the talks are likely to fail.”

In Kedah and Kelantan as well, there had been no progress in the seat talks, he said.

Kelantan PAS is said to be meeting the state Umno leadership on Jan 22 to discuss cooperation for the next general election.

Azizuddin said PAS was aware that it would be impossible for it to capture Putrajaya. “So its main aim is to dominate Kedah, Terengganu and Kelantan. It wants as many seats as possible there.”

He said the talks were unlikely to make any headway and the two parties would probably go their separate ways before GE15.

“But after the general election, they may court each other again as they know no political party will garner enough votes to form a government.”

In a recent news report, Johor Umno deputy chief Nur Jazlan Mohamed was quoted as saying it was impossible to trust PAS as it had been looking at ways to strengthen itself without Umno.

Another Umno leader also told FMT that Barisan Nasional was likely to go it alone for the general election.

“We have done well in the recent Melaka state elections without PAS and Bersatu,” he said. “We don’t see any reason to be with them.”

The supreme council member said PAS needed Umno to drum up support during elections. “PAS may say ‘I scratch your back, and you scratch mine’ but the majority in Umno are saying we can scratch our own back.”

He added that BN might work with a selected few after GE15 as “no one party will win the majority”. - FMT