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PETALING JAYA: Umno can fall into a trap set by PPBM and PAS if he accepts a proposal to form a grand coalition with Perikatan Nasional and Gabungan Parti Sarawak, according to political analysts.
Awang Azman Pawi of Universiti Malaya said the coalition would mark the downfall of Umno as an autonomous Malaysian party.
“Umno will not benefit from it, as they will have to listen to PPBM and PAS,” he told FMT.
He said that most party members may reject the proposal for that reason, although some Umno leaders may be interested in working more closely with PPBM.
Yet such a magnificent union was PPBM and PAS’s only way to survive.
PPBM Secretary General Hamzah Zainudin had previously suggested that the grand coalition would ensure the continuation of the informal consensus reached when Perikatan Nasional took power after Dr. Mahathir Mohamad resigned in February.
But Awang Azman said that PPBM lacked grassroots support and was aware that they needed a partnership with Umno to win the next general election. Working with PAS alone would not guarantee victory.
However, using the grand coalition, the PAS could dominate Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah, and deprive Umno of any claim on Terengganu.
He said PPBM will also have the proper seats secured under the grand coalition. “PPBM realizes that GE15 can be carried out at any time and they need Umno to survive. The PAS alone cannot promise them victory, ”he added.
Umno’s failure to join PH in Perak
Awang Azman added that Umno could have worked with PH to form a majority state government in Perak.
But objections from Umno members unhappy about the possibility that Umno had to work with DAP had caused a U-turn.
“There are still state assemblymen who believe in the old rhetoric of not working with DAP,” he said.
The FMT had previously reported that almost half of the assemblymen in Umno state had rejected the proposal to work with DAP after the fall of the government of Ahmad Faizal Azumu by a vote of confidence.
Another political analyst, Azizuddin Mohd Sani from Universiti Utara Malaysia, told the FMT that Umno and PH may find it easier to discuss the allocation of seats as they had different target voters.
If they combine their efforts, they are likely to form a strong government, he said.
“But opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim would have to be an intermediary between Umno and DAP to calm things down,” he said.
On December 6, Umno President Ahmad Zahid Hamidi did not rule out the possibility of forming a coalition with other parties, including those of Pakatan Harapan (PH), including the DAP, to form the new government in Perak.
