PN’s suspension will have little bearing on PAS, say analysts

Perikatan Nasional’s suspension is expected to have little impact on PAS in the upcoming Melaka state election, though it may present a challenge for Hamzah Zainudin’s Wawasan, according to a political analyst.

Azmi Hassan of Akademi Nusantara said PAS was sufficiently established to contest under its own logo.

“But Wawasan is very new and unfamiliar to Melaka voters,” he told FMT, adding that the two parties would have “no choice” but to contest under their respective banners following the suspension.

The Registrar of Societies (RoS) suspended PN on Wednesday, one day after issuing a show cause notice following a complaint lodged by Bersatu.

RoS said the suspension was intended to safeguard the organisation’s interests and did not amount to a cancellation of PN’s registration.

Azmi, however, said PN’s suspension was unlikely to derail seat negotiations between Umno and PAS, as Umno appears to have been dealing primarily with PAS rather than PN as a whole.

The development could even push PAS and Umno to conclude their negotiations sooner, he added.

On Thursday, Barisan Nasional chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said PN’s components were likely to revert to contesting under their own logos in the Melaka state election as well as in the next general election (GE16).

University of Tasmania analyst James Chin agreed that PN’s suspension would not impact seat negotiations between PAS and Umno.

However, Chin said the bigger question was whether PAS was able to keep PN together. PN is chaired by PAS vice-president Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar.

“If PAS cannot get the coalition going, it will be deregistered and there will be one less coalition in Malaysia,” he added.

International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) analyst Syaza Shukri said the suspension would put PN at a disadvantage when negotiating for seats with BN.

Prior to the suspension, there were talks that BN and PN would join forces for the Melaka state election.

“But at this stage, PN looks like it is in a mess,” she said.

Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM) analyst Mazlan Ali said the suspension could significantly affect PAS, but only outside the states it controls – Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu and Perlis – collectively known as “SG4”.

“PAS relies on the PN brand outside the SG4 states, where the PAS symbol struggles to gain acceptance, particularly among non-Malays,” he said.

The Melaka state assembly was dissolved on Wednesday, paving the way for a state election. The suspension of PN activities by the RoS took effect the following day.

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