Little traction seen for PAS leader’s call for Umno to work with it

 

PAS central working committee member Nik Abduh Nik Abdul Aziz says Umno’s poor showing in GE15 should put the party on the “path to repentance” and into a partnership with PAS. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA: Two academics have voiced their doubt that a PAS invitation to Umno to work with it at rebuilding the country will carry much weight with Umno leaders.

Azmi Hassan of Akademi Nusantara said he believed Umno leaders would feel that emulating PAS would lead their party to a path unsuitable for Malaysia.

James Chin of the University of Tasmania said Umno would not look at cooperation with PAS until after the elections in six states, which must be called by September.

In a Facebook post last Sunday, PAS central working committee member Nik Abduh Nik Abdul Aziz said Umno’s poor showing in GE15 should put the party on the “path to repentance” and into a partnership with PAS. He said PAS was “ahead of other parties in its commitment to Islam”.

Speaking to FMT, Azmi dismissed Nik Abduh’s suggestion that PAS could do a better job than Umno in protecting Islamiic interests.

He said Malay voters migrated from Umno to PAS in last November’s polls only because the former was mired in allegations of corruption.

“But Umno has an advantage here,” he said. “Umno can, and has already proven, that it can be accepted nationally, as shown by its six decades” of ruling the country through Barisan Nasional.

“The problem with PAS is that it has an extreme view on a lot of issues. There was a lot of apprehension right after GE15 – when Perikatan Nasional won a huge number of seats – that PAS would be in the federal government. There was no secret about that.

“This shows PAS is still not accepted nationally but is accepted only in the East Coast and northern states.

“Umno should not emulate PAS unless Umno wants to be strong in certain states only.”

BN won 30 seats in GE15, 26 of them coming from Umno. BN later agreed to form the current government with former rivals Pakatan Harapan and East Malaysian coalitions.

Azmi said Umno, instead of promoting its Islamic credentials like PAS, could do a better job at attracting voters by shedding itself of its “perception of corruption” and getting rid of its long-embedded culture of money politics.

Chin told FMT he believed Nik Abduh was just flying a kite to see the reaction from Umno leaders.

He said nothing was likely to happen until after the state elections in Penang, Selangor, Negeri Sembilan, Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah.

“We need to know whether the people who voted for PAS really wanted to vote for PAS,” he said.

“Some say Umno may be able to regain the Malay vote that was lost to PAS or PN. So everyone is looking at the state elections this year to decide which way the results will go.” - FMT