Who cares about the non-Malay voters?
Moaz’s comment that “with Umno aligning with PAS, the non-Malay voters would abandon both the parties” clearly shows this person is no political analyst. The non-Malays have already abandoned Umno and PAS. With 97% Chinese and 85% Indians voting Pakatan Harapan, what difference will it make? Might as well 100% Chinese and Indians vote Pakatan if Umno-PAS can get back 80% Malay voters.
THE CORRIDORS OF POWER
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Free Malaysia Today published an article written by Moaz Nair entitled “A wonky PAS-Umno alliance can never be the voters’ choice” (READ HERE) that is full of errors. As usual, the non-Malay Pakatan Harapan supporters always look at just one side of the coin while ignoring the fact that a coin has two sides to it.
First of all, the Umno-PAS cooperation (or marriage, if you wish to call it that) was not a spur of the moment decision or a shotgun wedding. Talks between Umno and PAS first started in 2008 while Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was still the prime minister.
The matter did not really go far until 2013 when talks were again held in London. And this time the initiator of the talks was Anwar Ibrahim, the man Pakatan Harapan touts as Prime Minister-in-waiting and PM8.
Pakatan Harapan supporters such as Moaz Nair are probably not aware of all this.
Moaz said, “The coalition was declared obsolete on June 16, 2015, citing the inability of the rest of the alliance to work with PAS, after PAS’ congress passed a motion to sever ties with DAP without debate.”
Why do the non-Malays keep threatening that the Chinese and Indians will abandon Umno and PAS when it is the Malay voters that matter?
That is not true. The relationship between PAS and DAP-PKR broke down because of the Kajang Move. Pakatan always claims they do things based on consensus but the Kajang Move was a PKR exercise and was done without consultation with DAP and PAS. Even DAP was against the Kajang Move, not only PAS.
PKR wanted Khalid Ibrahim removed and replaced with Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail. HRH the Sultan of Selangor would not agree to this so PAS turut titah Tuanku and did not support Wan Azizah as the new Menteri Besar.
DAP and PKR wanted PAS to defy the Sultan but PAS would not. In fact, the PAS President, Abdul Hadi Awang, had an audience (mengadap) with the Sultan and pledged loyalty to the Sultan, as is expected of any true Malay and Muslim.
That is the real reason DAP and PKR kicked PAS out of Pakatan, not the fairy tale that Pakatan keeps repeating.
Moaz said, “PAS is quite well-known for its “fatwa-changing” binge and they keep on shifting their goal posts to suit their political flavour.”
Who is the one who “keep on shifting the goalposts”?
I would be very careful with that comment if I were Moaz. This “keep on shifting the goalposts” that Moaz talks about is the very reason many voters who voted Pakatan Harapan in May 2018 now regret doing so. Moaz’s comment is almost like Anwar Ibrahim accusing Azmin Ali of Semburit. Malays would call it kena batang hidung sendiri.
Moaz’s comment that “with Umno aligning with PAS, the non-Malay voters would abandon both the parties” clearly shows this person is no political analyst. The non-Malays have already abandoned Umno and PAS. With 97% Chinese and 85% Indians voting Pakatan Harapan, what difference will it make? Might as well 100% Chinese and Indians vote Pakatan if Umno-PAS can get back 80% Malay voters.
And what Moaz failed to mention is that in 2018, Umno and PAS won 100% of the state and parliaments seats in Terengganu and Kelantan while Pakatan Harapan won zero. What do you think GE15 is going to look like?
Moaz and those Pakatan Harapan people of his ilk do not realise that had Umno and PAS agreed on straight fights instead of three-corner contests in May 2018, Pakatan Harapan would be short of 30 seats and today would not be the government.
