PAS hedging bets on Bersatu for Johor polls

PETALING JAYA: A political analyst believes PAS has not totally pulled the plug on its cooperation with Bersatu as the Islamic party is trying to be strategic in managing the relationship to maximise its electoral gains.

The Asia Group associate vice-president Asrul Sani said PAS’s actions so far suggested that it was not rushing into a complete organisational split with Bersatu, a fellow co-founder of Perikatan Nasional of which both parties remain component.

“PAS is separating rhetoric from electoral strategy. It wants the political benefit of distancing itself from Bersatu without immediately absorbing the full electoral cost of a hard break.

“PAS is now the dominant force in PN, with stronger machinery, membership and election operations, particularly in the Malay heartlands. Bersatu’s value lies more in its ability to attract segments of Malays who may support PN but are not fully comfortable voting directly for PAS.

“That makes Bersatu still useful in some seats, even if the relationship is increasingly strained,” he told FMT.

With both parties contesting on a PN ticket in Johor, Asrul said keeping Bersatu as an ally on paper also gave PAS room to renegotiate the relationship after the state polls, while pursuing different alignments closer to the next general election.

Asrul said this was more strategic than indecisive on PAS’s part, adding that the party led by Abdul Hadi Awang since 2002 had always treated alliances as a tool rather than a creed.

At the end of a closely watched central committee meeting on Monday, PAS announced that it did not make any decision on Bersatu contrary to earlier expectations that it would decide whether or not to support its PN partner in the Johor polls.

Instead, it merely said it would “defend Malay-Muslim political power” in the state polls while urging voters not to support Pakatan Harapan in any seat.

‘The gloves will come off after Johor polls’

Oh Ei Sun of the Singapore Institute of International Affairs said Johor was the rare exception in the relationship between PAS and Bersatu, as the latter commanded greater strength down south.

Given the fact that Johor was Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin’s home state, which he led for nine years as menteri besar, Oh said, PAS was much more dependent on Bersatu’s support in Johor compared with any other state.

“As such, in order to maximise its winning chances, PAS cannot afford to enrage Bersatu just yet. When the Johor election is over, then perhaps the gloves will come off, and PAS will really show its true colours to Bersatu.”

Asrul said totally cutting off Bersatu posed the risk of splitting Malay votes, which would end up benefiting Barisan Nasional or PH.

However, he said, the key test to the PAS-Bersatu relationship would be the Negeri Sembilan state election, where Hamzah Zainudin’s Parti Wawasan Negara intends to make its maiden election outing.

“If Wawasan can win enough votes for PN with PAS’s support, Bersatu risks becoming redundant in the opposition ecosystem.

“But if Bersatu remains electorally relevant and competes strongly without PAS’s support, PAS may still need to manage the relationship despite the breakdown in trust,” Asrul added.