Weigh ‘ultimate’ risk of PAS alliance, Ramasamy warns Umno

Urimai chairman P Ramasamy today warned Umno to weigh the “ultimate” risk of joining forces with PAS in the next general election (GE16), citing the possibility of being superseded by the Islamic party in the Malay heartlands.

While Umno would reap immediate electoral gains from a partnership to avoid splitting Malay votes, Ramasamy said PAS could go on to overtake and even marginalise Barisan Nasional (BN) in parts of the Malay heartlands.

He said PAS heavily accommodated Umno in the Johor and Negeri Sembilan polls as it knew it would not make inroads there on its own.

“For the moment, PAS appears willing to emphasise Malay-Muslim political unity and nationalism where cooperation with Umno serves an electoral purpose.

“But if PAS concludes that this nationalism no longer serves its political interests, it could revert more strongly to its Islamic political identity.

“There is always the danger that PAS could eventually overtake or politically marginalise Umno in parts of the Malay heartlands,” he said in a Facebook post.

While having a common enemy in Pakatan Harapan was a unifying factor for Umno and PAS, Ramasamy said success in GE16 could sharpen the rivalry between the country’s two largest Malay-Muslim parties.

The former DAP leader said it was unlikely that PAS, in particular, would be willing to make room for Umno in its strongholds of Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu and Perlis, having established dominance by filling the political vacuum left by BN’s decline.

“The four states are not simply electoral constituencies for PAS. They represent the historical fruits of its long political struggle against Umno,” he said, adding that giving away these seats would be seen as returning territory PAS had fought hard to gain.

“The real question is how far each party is prepared to compromise without surrendering the political ground it has spent decades fighting to control.”

Ramasamy said the Melaka polls could indicate whether the Umno-PAS alliance in Negeri Sembilan was a state-specific, tactical move or growing into something broader.

Umno and PAS were once allies under the Muafakat Nasional pact, formalised in 2019, which collapsed after PAS joined Bersatu to form Perikatan Nasional.

During the 2022 general election, BN failed to win a single parliamentary seat in PAS-dominated Perlis, Kedah, Kelantan and Terengganu.

The Umno-led coalition suffered a similar fate in the six state elections in August 2023, which saw it wiped out of the Kedah and Terengganu state assemblies.

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