Will PAS yet again split into two?
As they say, it takes two hands to clap, or it takes two to tango. And currently Umno is not in any mood to tango with PAS if PAS is tangoing with Bersatu. Umno is very happy to go to bed with PAS so long as it is not in an orgy with Bersatu as well.
NO HOLDS BARRED
Raja Petra Kamarudin
Six years ago, the pro-DAP faction in PAS tried to oust the anti-DAP faction in PAS, but failed miserably. Soon after that they left the party en bloc and formed Parti Amanah Negara, which today is the Malay face or poster boy for DAP.
Last weekend, the pro-Umno and pro-Bersatu factions in PAS contested the party election. The message the grassroots sent the leadership is that they are with Bersatu rather than with Umno. Hence the pro-Bersatu faction swept in with a resounding victory.
To be fair, while the pro-Umno faction is anti-Bersatu, the pro-Bersatu faction is not anti-Umno. They just want a tripartite relationship with BOTH Umno and Bersatu at the same time.
Umno, however, does not want this polygamous relationship. It has to be either Umno or Bersatu, not both.
So, what is going to happen now? Some in PAS want to be with Umno. Some want to be with Bersatu. And some want both Umno and Bersatu at the same time. Will PAS, again, split into two parties like it did back in 1977 (when Berjasa was formed), 1983 (when Hamim was formed), and 2015 (when Amanah was formed)?
Actually, the problem is not PAS but Umno. In the Malay heartland (Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah and Perlis) PAS and Umno still cannot reconcile their differences, which started 70 years ago in 1951. And Umno Kelantan and Terengganu made it very clear they can never sleep in the same bed with their 70-year-old enemy.
In fact, Umno Kelantan and Terengganu want to wipe out PAS and leave them with zero seats if possible.
If any reconciliation between Umno and PAS is going to happen, it must first happen in Kelantan and Terengganu. If it cannot happen in Kelantan and Terengganu, then it cannot happen in the other states. And the PAS culture is: each state is quite independent and decides its own policies, never mind what the central wants.
As they say, it takes two hands to clap, or it takes two to tango. And currently Umno is not in any mood to tango with PAS if PAS is tangoing with Bersatu. Umno is very happy to go to bed with PAS so long as it is not in an orgy with Bersatu as well.
The outcome of the ongoing Melaka state election may decide the future and will determine what happens in GE15. If Barisan Nasional wins the Melaka state election, then there will be no deal with PAS in GE15. If, however, Pakatan Harapan wins, then Umno may need to get off its high horse and accept the reality that a three-way split is detrimental to Umno’s health.
