A RIFT in PAS between its president Tan Sri Hadi Awang and his deputy Datuk Seri Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man has sparked a discord within the Islamist party, a development that the Pakatan Harapan-Barisan Nasional (PH-BN) alliance should capitalise fully to tame the so-called green tsunami effect in the run-up to the upcoming state polls.
With rumours rife of the split between the two prominent leaders, Hadi is said to have resorted to seek election funding from former two-time premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad instead of relying solely on funding from its Perikatan Nasional (PN) ally Bersatu whose bank accounts have been frozen by the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).
In an earlier report, UMNO president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has also hinted that PAS is about to split but he did not reveal the possible source of the split.
“Interestingly, Hadi’s collaboration with Dr Mahathir by endorsing the latter’s Malay Proclamation agenda has placed the cleric at odds with descendants of the 1985 Memali incident,” a source familiar with PAS told FocusM on condition of anonymity.
FocusM had earlier highlighted a video showing a revolt by Kelantanese youths against the current PAS leadership. Beyond that, cracks could also be building up within the PN coalition with Hadi increasingly considering coalition chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin “as dah tak boleh pakai (cannot be relied upon anymore)”.
More broadly, PAS-ruled states of Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah are also facing backlash from the recent water woes coupled with socio-economic hardship that are affecting the people’s livelihood.
This may make outstation voters ‘reluctant’ to return to their hometown to vote unlike during last November’s national poll. And if they return, they may not necessarily vote for PAS.
The mere politicking by PAS leaders such as Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor can be excessive – and without a clear sign of common hardship being resolved – sources reckon that this may be a turning point for the grassroots to steer clear of supporting PN.
Above all else, it is not a secret that Bersatu as a party is riding on PAS as its main coalition partner. And the former may not survive beyond the state elections if PAS loses its grassroots support.
Such developments is likely to put PH in the driver’s seat by possibly leveraging the strengths that it is able to draw from UMNO’s larger electoral base provided that UMNO carries out internal reforms to cleanse itself of a number of corruption scandals to champion the welfare of the rakyat.
This is perhaps how UMNO can leverage Prime Minister (PM) Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s people-centric focus in the unity government. Recently, the unity government’s Malaysia Madani Aidilfitri Open House in Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu attracted big numbers of well-wishers.
Commenting on the green wave, informed sources justified that UMNO and its Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties failed to win enough seats during the 15th General Election (GE15) due to an abandonment of UMNO in favour of Bersatu led by former PM and PN chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.
Apparently, Malays who were generally disappointed with UMNO’s tainted reputation, formed part of their own ‘green wave’ which gave PN the boost in the number of seats during last November’s GE15.
However, the three-term PH reign in Selangor may face an uphill battle to secure maximum support from urban voters unlike what it used to receive in the past. A number of controversial and unresolved issues such as the Petaling Jaya Dispersal Link (PJD Link) and poor solid waste disposal in the state which its current State EXCO failed to resolve, may become sore points for Selangorians.
Our take is that if Malaysians residing in Singapore at least return for the state elections, the unity government will still win Penang, Selangor, Negri Sembilan and possibly Kedah. Kelantan and Terengganu are likely to remain as PAS-controlled states notwithstanding the internal tussle within PAS and PN. – May 17, 2023
