PAS may be seeking to accelerate its ambitions for federal power by viewing cooperation with Umno as its best opportunity to lead Putrajaya, a political analyst has said.
Akademi Nusantara analyst Azmi Hassan said PAS recognised that it would struggle to build the nationwide support needed to form the federal government on its own, even in the long term.
He said Umno enjoyed broader appeal across the country, while PAS’s support remained concentrated in Kedah, Perlis, Kelantan and Terengganu.
Azmi said PAS’s current cooperation with Umno was not merely about political survival but also about positioning itself closer to federal power.
“I don’t think PAS is prepared to wait another 10 years to be part of the federal government or to see one of its MPs appointed prime minister.
“I don’t think that is the intention behind its current cooperation with Umno,” he told FMT.
PAS could seek prime minister’s post
Azmi said PAS might be willing to let Umno take the lead for now, but could change its position quickly if the outcome of the next general election (GE16) favoured the Islamic party.
“Playing second fiddle now is just to ride on Umno’s popularity,” he said. “But if they have the greater number of seats, PAS will push for the prime minister’s post.”
He added that Perikatan Nasional (PN) might be becoming a thing of the past for PAS, although the party could continue working with Wawasan president Hamzah Zainudin.
Last week, former Umno information chief Shahril Hamdan suggested that PAS might be prepared to wait five to 10 years before making a serious bid for national leadership.
He said Umno appeared more focused on regaining power immediately, while PAS might prefer to gain governing experience and build familiarity with voters and civil servants before seeking to lead the federal government.
PAS still needs federal experience
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia analyst Mazlan Ali agreed with Shahril, saying PAS was aware of its limitations compared with Umno, particularly its lack of prominent figures and experience in federal administration.
He noted that Umno had governed Malaysia from independence until 2018, giving it decades of experience that PAS could learn from.
“PAS faces the limitation of being perceived as a local party with appeal primarily among traditionalist Malays.
“It needs more time to learn from Umno’s experience in the federal government before it is truly ready to take over the reins of power itself in the future,” he said.
Mazlan expected PAS to allow Umno to lead the federal government if the two parties succeeded in forming a government after GE16.
However, he cautioned that the arrangement could backfire on PAS while helping Umno regain support among Malay voters.
“A major risk for PAS is that if Umno manages to regain the trust of the Malays, as it did in the 1970s, 1980s and 1990s, PAS could lose its influence, given that the two parties compete for the same segment of Malay voters,” he said.
Cooperation could lead to renewed rivalry
Mazlan said PAS and Umno remained political rivals, and gains achieved through cooperation could eventually give way to renewed competition.
He said an alliance could strengthen both parties and improve their chances in GE16, but its long-term success would depend on their ability to maintain their relationship.
“If the relationship between the two parties is not further strengthened, they may well return to competing against each other on the political stage for the Malay vote in the future,” he said.
