In the tussle for Malay votes, PAS’ trump card grows bigger

Nicholas Cheng, The Star

It was the Watergate expose, of how a United States president knowingly lied about clandestine activities by his party that sank the Nixon administration in the 70’s.

You would think such tarnishing circumstance can also sink a party in Malaysia, especially one that had branded itself as the purveyor of Islamic purity.

But the news that PAS leaders had accepted backdoor funding from on-and-off again political enemy Umno, and then lied about it, has done very little in denting the Islamist party’s credibility among its support base nor has it lessen its influence in the political arena.

This week, the Islamist party announced that it was breaking ranks with Umno, of whom it had campaigned with and help win during the Cameron Highlands by-election, as Umno faces Pakatan Harapan in the upcoming Semenyih election.

While PAS said it would not support Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia either, its clear stance against Umno can be taken as an endorsement for its opponent.

Then, PAS secretary-general Takiyuddin Hassan announced that his party would back Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad in the event of any “betrayal” against him within Pakatan whilst also maintaining that PAS and Umno were “still friends”.

If there has ever been a case of having one’s cake and eating it too, PAS seems to have booked out the whole bakery.

The party had its worst electoral performance, since its Pakatan Rakyat-days, on GE14. But it seems like PAS has found life support by playing both Bersatu and Umno, as they duke it out over control for the Malay vote.

Now that PAS has proven that it can be a formidable partner in Cameron Highlands, a loss for Umno in Semenyih may solidify the party’s status as a small yet necessary bedfellow that both Pakatan and Barisan may want to keep around.

I must say I do not agree with the ideologies PAS stands for, because it has proven that even it doesn’t fully understand or fully complies with its own teachings – case in point: Nik Abduh Nik Aziz’s “halal lie”.

But I will also say that I respect the party’s ability to navigate the topsy turvy Malaysian political scene, and bending its ideology to suit its necessity for political survival without alienating its support base entirely.

If Malaysian politics was Game of Thrones, PAS would be Littlefinger. Never really on the throne, but always close enough to be comfortable no matter who sits on it.

The bigger question now is for Umno and Pakatan. PAS has proven that it is indispensable as the two log heads. But what are the implications of dealing so closely with a party that, frankly, is disliked by almost all ethnic minorities and some classes of the Malay populace?

We have already seen what a PAS alliance did for the longevity of Pakatan’s predecessor Pakatan Rakyat. Bersatu is in government with DAP, a party that famously opposed PAS’ brand of Islam, and Parti Amanah Negara, a splinter of PAS which has shown no love lost over their break-up. How will Dr Mahathir find a balance between securing the broad Malay votes with PAS whilst not alienating his component party members?

The same goes for Umno. In Peninsular Malaysia, a collaboration with PAS can be seen as a safer bet as MCA and MIC have lost their bargaining chips. But the same cannot be said for East Malaysia, where Barisan still enjoys significant support from Sabah and Sarawak parties, that also revile PAS.

That is a question Bersatu and Umno will have to wrestle with in their ambition to be their demographic’s political ruler.

Meanwhile, PAS is standing by the throne toying with the crown.