If DAP and Umno can work with PAS, why can’t DAP and Umno work together?
There are so many benefits for Umno to end its relationship with PPBM and PAS and to go to bed with DAP and PKR. With DAP and PKR, Umno can regain its 63 years glory and once again become the boss and will no longer suffer the indignity of being number two to another “big brother”.
NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin
DAP once said it will never even sit at the same table with PAS let alone sleep in the same bed with the “extremist, racist, Taliban” party.
Then, in 1999, and again in 2008, DAP and PAS got married.
Umno and PAS have been enemies since 1951, far longer than with DAP (only since 1965). But then in 1973, and again in 2020, Umno and PAS were able to kiss and make up and call each other comrades.
That is how things have been in Malaysia’s political scene. So, for DAP and Umno to now get married is not impossible considering more impossible things have happened in the past.
As Umno’s Tajuddin Abdul Rahman said in his press conference yesterday, Umno needs to be pragmatic. And the pragmatic thing is for Umno to seek new partners if it wants to end its partnership with PPBM — and maybe even with PAS (if PAS chooses to continue to support Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin).
The dawn of a new alliance in a new Malaysia
Malaysians are being asked to think outside the box. And Umno going to bed with DAP and PKR can be considered as thinking outside the box. So why get so upset with this prospect?
What is important is: what will Umno benefit from its marriage to DAP and PKR compared to its marriage to PPBM and PAS?
In its marriage to PPBM, Umno is being bullied and is being treated as an “anak tiri”. Umno is no longer the “big brother” in Perikatan Nasional and it cannot do as it likes or call the shots. Umno also no longer holds the post of Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister or holds the senior Cabinet posts.
In its marriage to DAP and PKR, Umno will once again be able to do as it likes and can call all the shots. Umno will also regain the post of Prime Minister and Deputy Prime Minister plus all the senior Cabinet posts.
Muhyiddin refuses to drop all the court cases the Umno people are facing
Umno will also be able to contest at least 100 of the 222 Parliament seats, leaving the balance 122 seats to be shared by DAP, PKR, MCA, MIC, Gerakan, Amanah and the various parties from Sabah and Sarawak. Under Perikatan Nasional, Umno may not even be given 50 seats to contest.
Muhyiddin has thus far refused to drop the many court cases that the Umno people are facing. Anwar Ibrahim and Lim Kit Siang have agreed to give the Umno people facing court cases “get out of jail free” cards. This is the most controversial issue affecting the Umno-PPBM relationship — Muhyiddin’s refusal to drop the court cases against Umno leaders.
There are so many benefits for Umno to end its relationship with PPBM and PAS and to go to bed with DAP and PKR. With DAP and PKR, Umno can regain its 63 years glory and once again become the boss and will no longer suffer the indignity of being number two to another “big brother”.
