Bersatu biggest loser if Umno-PAS alliance materialises, says analyst

 

PAS holds 43 seats in the Dewan Rakyat, while Bersatu has 25.

PETALING JAYA: 

Bersatu stands to lose the most should an alliance between Umno and PAS materialise, says an analyst.

Azmi Hassan of Akademi Nusantara said the reason Perikatan Nasional has looked 

formidable and strong

 is down to PAS, not Bersatu.

Bersatu needs PAS in order to expand its political ambitions. So in terms of who will lose more, it’s probably Bersatu,

 he told FMT.

PAS holds 43 of PN’s 68 seats in the Dewan Rakyat, while Bersatu is left with 25 after six rebel members pledged their support for the unity government. Muda holds the only other seat in the opposition, while the remaining 153 seats are held by components of the unity government.

Azmi said Bersatu has had to rely heavily on PAS for much of its recent success.

As an example he said Azizi Abu Naim won the Nenggiri state seat in Kelantan for Bersatu at the state election in August last year 

because of PAS’s supporters

. Contesting under the PAS logo, Azizi was one of six Bersatu candidates elected to the 45-seat state assembly.

The seat was recently declared vacant by Kelantan state assembly speaker Amar Abdullah, with a by-election scheduled for Aug 17.

Rumours of a possible PAS-Umno alliance at the next general election (GE16) have been swirling recently after PAS information chief Ahmad Fadhli Shaari claimed on Monday that top leaders from both parties have had several 

informal

 meetings.

Fadhli said one unnamed Umno leader had confessed to being in a 

dilemma

 over the party’s presence in the unity government led by Pakatan Harapan, which the leader said was to its detriment.

However, Azmi said Fadhli’s comments about a PAS-Umno tie up may be part of the Islamic party’s strategy to counter suggestions by government spokesman Fahmi Fadzil about the possibility of PAS joining the coalition government.

Several opposition leaders have dismissed Fahmi’s claims, with the PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan calling for him to stop twisting perceptions about the party.

Azmi also believes Fadhli’s reference to unnamed Umno leaders was part of a strategy to destabilise the party and undermine its president, Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

‘Counterintuitive’

Analyst Asrul Hadi Abdullah Sani, on the other hand, said that any future cooperation between PH and the Umno-led Barisan Nasional would depend on the performance of both coalitions in GE16.

If Umno performs poorly and loses more seats in the next general election, leaders from both PKR and Umno will push for an end to their current cooperation,

 said Asrul, formerly of BowerGroupAsia.

However, Asrul said that even if the PAS-Umno tie up materialises, Bersatu should avoid joining forces with PH as doing so would be 

counterintuitive

 and could potentially 

reverse all of its electoral successes against Umno

.

Bersatu risks jeopardising its credibility among rural Malay voters and would find it hard to differentiate itself from Umno,

 he said. - FMT