Umno and PAS may have a better chance of sustaining a political partnership now that their relationship with Bersatu has deteriorated, an analyst said, backing calls for the two parties to formalise their cooperation.
Universiti Teknologi Malaysia analyst Mazlan Ali said a formal agreement that clearly binds the interests of both parties would provide greater stability than a mere mutual understanding.
A formal agreement could provide stability
Mazlan said PAS and Umno had previously worked together under the Muafakat Nasional (MN) alliance, but the arrangement eventually collapsed after Umno became unhappy with PAS’ relationship with Bersatu.
However, he said the political landscape had since changed, with PAS severing ties with Bersatu in June, although both parties remain partners in Perikatan Nasional (PN).
Mazlan said the informal cooperation between PAS and Umno in the Johor and Negeri Sembilan state elections was no guarantee that the partnership would remain intact until the next general election.
“Only a formal agreement will allow for a lasting political relationship between the two parties,” he said.
Any new agreement, he said, should clearly set out matters such as seat distribution, loyalty between the parties and their common positions on political issues.
However, he said the more contentious question would be deciding which party would lead the government if the coalition wins the next general election.
“At the moment, I am not sure which party would be willing to give up the prime minister’s post to its partner,” he said.
Mazlan added that significant differences and a lack of trust remained between the two parties despite the apparent momentum towards renewed cooperation.
“I think the idea of MN, although easy to say, is not easy to realise. There are still many differences between the two parties (PAS and Umno), and the level of trust between them remains low,” he said.
Charter could turn cooperation into commitments
International Islamic University Malaysia analyst Syaza Shukri said a formal charter could give greater political weight to the current informal cooperation by turning it into specific commitments.
She said such an agreement could reassure party members that the cooperation had the backing of both leaderships, provide state leaders with a framework for negotiations and signal to voters that PAS and Umno intended to avoid three-cornered contests.
However, she said the significance of any agreement would depend largely on its contents.
A declaration focused only on Malay-Muslim unity, without binding arrangements, would remain largely symbolic, she said.
Syaza said a new agreement would only be meaningfully different from MN if both parties addressed the political circumstances and ambiguities that contributed to the previous pact’s collapse.
“Both parties must agree on whether their partnership is exclusive, how it relates to BN, PN and Pakatan Harapan, and which party has priority in contested constituencies. Otherwise, it would reproduce the ambiguity in MN under a new name,” she said.
New pact would need clear rules
Syaza said informal cooperation offered flexibility but was vulnerable to contradictory statements and possible sabotage by party leaders.
A formal agreement, on the other hand, could provide an authorised structure, although informal negotiations might still be more realistic at this stage, she said.
Any new charter should define the status of existing political partners, establish transparent principles for seat allocation, create a joint decision-making and dispute-resolution mechanism, and set out rules on party discipline and public communication.
It should also clarify post-election arrangements, including whether either party could negotiate with a third coalition and how government positions would be allocated.
