Kedah Umno’s PAS-only approach driven by sense of threat, says analyst

Kedah Umno’s desire to negotiate only with PAS is likely driven by a sense of being threatened after failing to win any seats in the last state election, an analyst says.

Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid of Universiti Sains Malaysia said Umno would only have a chance of reclaiming the Bakar Arang and Sidam state seats won by PKR, as well as Kota Darul Aman, held by DAP, if the principle of incumbency is followed.

He said Umno leaders’ belittling of Wawasan did not change the fact that the party, led by opposition leader Hamzah Zainudin, had been endorsed by the Perikatan Nasional (PN) leadership.

Fauzi said Wawasan would certainly demand to contest state seats in Kedah, at the very least those previously won by Bersatu.

“In its eagerness to negotiate with PAS, Umno needs to look at itself and recognise its position in Kedah and at the national level, where it is no longer the main choice of Malay voters.

“There is no need to act as though it has the right to dictate terms,” he told FMT.

Syaza Shukri of International Islamic University Malaysia also saw Umno and Wawasan competing for the same pool of voters, namely Malays who are not staunch PAS supporters.

“Wawasan will certainly want the seats in question and seek priority as a PN component party. Umno, meanwhile, will face a major challenge convincing PAS to give up the seats rather than to prioritise Wawasan,” she said.

Syaza said the development could trigger another rift in PN, as seat negotiations and the choice of coalition partners were often major points of contention.

“If we recall, Muafakat Nasional fell apart because PAS chose Bersatu over Umno. If PAS chooses Umno without taking Wawasan into consideration, will Wawasan be able to accept that decision?

“This dilemma shows that PN’s internal affairs and dynamics are still far from being resolved,” she said.

On Saturday, Kedah Umno information chief Shaiful Hazizy Zainol Abidin said the state chapter would begin discussions with PAS on the possibility of political cooperation, but would not negotiate with PN as a coalition.

He said this was because PN included a party he dismissed as “a cat”, a description he attributed to Kedah menteri besar Sanusi Nor, who is also PAS’s election director.

Shaiful did not name the party he was referring to, but went on to criticise elected representatives who quit Bersatu to join Wawasan.

At the PAS muktamar, Sanusi said PAS had grown into an “elephant” of a party and that the Islamic party should not follow the lead of a smaller party, which he likened to a “cat”, that was only starting out.

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