Wan Saiful said Bersatu and PAS complemented each other well, as shown by PN winning 74 parliamentary seats in the 2022 general election and sweeping seats in Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah in the state elections the following year.
It was illogical to compare the eight-year-old Bersatu with the more experienced PAS, which was established in 1951, said Wan Saiful, the Tasek Gelugor MP
“We complement each other. If we did not have this partnership, we wouldn’t be where we are today,” he said, pointing out that Bersatu and PAS won their highest-ever number of parliamentary seats in 2022.
“Yes, Kelantan and Terengganu may have remained under PAS (without Bersatu), but they would have a smaller majority in the state assemblies. So when some people say that there’s a big brother (in PN), I don’t see that,” he said in an interview with FMT.
PAS holds 43 seats in the Dewan Rakyat while Bersatu has 25, after six of its former MPs were terminated from the party for declaring their support for Anwar Ibrahim’s unity government.
In June 2023, PN chairman Muhyiddin Yassin dismissed the notion that PAS was the “big brother” in the coalition after the Islamic party was allocated the most number of seats to contest in the six state elections.
The issue resurfaced during the Nenggiri by-election in August after Bersatu fielded a former PAS divisional leader, Rizwadi Ismail, as PN’s candidate.
Bersatu’s grassroots members were unhappy with the candidate, as the party had won the Nenggiri seat in the 2023 Kelantan state election. Rizwadi had also revealed he joined Bersatu at the behest of PAS’s top leaders so that he could contest the seat.
Azmawi Fikri Abdul Ghani ended up wresting the seat back for Umno, defeating Rizwadi with a majority of 3,352 votes.
‘Demands can be discussed’
Wan Saiful said any demand by PN partners, whether over seats or which party should lead a state, can be brought to the negotiating table so that an amicable decision can be made by the top PN leadership.
He said he saw no issue with conflicting views as to which party should take the lead in certain states, a subject which has been raised by PN leaders and members in the past.
“We have an understanding within PN but it’s not absolute in nature. It hangs on negotiations. But for Kelantan and Terengganu, for example, what is there to discuss (since they have always been PAS strongholds)?
“However, if some say that PAS should take the lead in Selangor and Pahang, we should celebrate such views. There are some who have also said that Bersatu should lead in Kedah, Perlis and Perak (the three states currently led by PAS.
“It’s good (to convey such views). If we don’t, it’s as though we don’t have any ambition to govern. If that were the case, then we shouldn’t be in politics,” he said.
In May, Perlis Bersatu said it was ready to helm the state government after a corruption investigation into the PAS-led administration was announced.
The probe led to the son of Perlis menteri besar and state PAS chief Shukri Ramli being charged with falsifying claims of more than RM19,000 for the supply of drinks for the Raja of Perlis, Tuanku Syed Sirajuddin Putra Jamalullail. He claimed trial. - FMT
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