Pakatan’s dilemma over ‘untrustworthy’ PAS

PAS rejects Muhyiddin’s offer to build ties with Amanah, DAP

Clever Voter: PAS is unbelievably living in their fantasyland, where their records at the state level is dismal.

Then you have PKR senior members who need to be reminded that close cooperation with DAP and others is a must if they want to form the next government.

Ignore PAS or leave them at the doorstep of BN if the opposition wants to have a better chance to win at the next general election (GE). The hypocrisy PAS displayed with BN shows clearly their vulnerability.

The reality is that all opposition parties know they cannot win alone. Even BN knows that.

Anonymous #19098644: This is the first time I heard of the attendance 1,500 people was called a mega ceramah.

In the last general election, 50,000 people turned up at Han Chiang school for a ceramah. At the Umno – and PAS – supported rally for the Rohingya where Abdul Hadi Awang and Najib Abdul Razak shared the same stage, 7,000 people turned up.

On the day Hadi Abdul Awang tabled his private member’s ‘hudud’ bill, a mere 70 black-shirted PAS members turned up with support from white-clad school-age madrasah student to try and make up the numbers lining the road to Parliament.

It is clear that both Umno and PAS have lost their ability to mobilise large numbers of Malay supporters. The times they are a changin’.

Kawak: PAS was slammed on a daily basis, said party’s No 2 Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man. But he should look at himself in the mirror.

Didn’t PAS disparage and ridicule DAP and Amanah as well? PAS is becoming more radical by the day, especially provoking Muslims in Malaysia to hate DAP for being anti-Malay and Muslim, which is indirectly referring to the Chinese as a whole.

And with the new-found support from Najib and Umno, their leader Hadi even dared to threaten non-Muslims MPs not to interfere in Islamic affairs regarding Act 355 or else they will face the same fate as Ahok, the Chinese Christian governor of Jakarta.

FairMind: DAP and Amanah will take a large majority of the non-Muslim and urban Muslim votes. Then, it is up to Bersatu and PKR to win over the heartland Malays who are disenchanted with the present Umno Baru.

PAS is seen as pro-Umno. PKR is a mixed party which is neither here nor there, and thus os redundant where the heartland Malays are concerned as shown in the recent by-elections.

In the Malay heartlands, Bersatu is more likely to capture Malay votes than PAS or PKR. Both PAS and PKR are seen as unprincipled parties.

Hence, it follows that DAP and Bersatu (without PAS and PKR) would be a formidable force to take on Umno and PAS in Peninsular Malaysia.

RCZ: PKR, Harapan and Bersatu still want to talk? Which part of PAS’ rejection did they not understand?

PAS has rejected their fellow Malay and Chinese citizens in favour of BN winning by splitting the vote, and using their support base as a threat and a carrot.

Sarawakian: Respect, Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin. Everything you say is true. Pakatan Harapan cannot sweep the problem under the carpet.

At the same time, you need to engage with PAS to ensure a united opposition. Now PAS is just posturing.

Come GE14, faced with Amanah contesting in Kelantan and Terengganu, they will come to their senses. Keeping channels open is better than PAS-bashing.

Like the rakyat, I sense you do not like PAS, too, but pragmatism dictates we cannot handle PAS and Umno at the same time. The greater evil must go first.

The rakyat expect Dr Mahathir Mohamad/Muhyiddin to bring Pakatan Harapan to a new level, and to tame PAS, too.

You have given all the correct advice to Pakatan Harapan – contest under one logo, have a common manifesto, work on its shadow cabinet. Then you will win GE14.

Vision2020: Having so much questionable integrity and credibility dealing with Umno using the toxic race and religion narratives, the greatest nightmare of rakyat and opposition parties is when orthodox PAS secures substantial parliamentary seats, the Islamic party will eventually turn its back on Pakatan Harapan and betray the opposition parties’ collective support by teaming up with Umno in the event Umno cannot obtain a simple majority to form a new government after GE14.

Umno may offer more ‘dedak’ (animal feed) and Islamic concessions for PAS in favour of a theological government that perverts our Federal Constitution as a secular and democratic government of the rakyat, by the rakyat and for the rakyat of various colours and creed; and of different races and religions to which liberty, justice and equality must prevail at all times.

Unafraid: Clearly the ceramah was a sham. Besides the meagre crowd, the no show of a couple of the key players have in fact doomed the possibility of any official pact with PAS.

The next step is so obvious. Let the other opposition parties unite under one logo and contest the elections against BN as a united front. As far as possible, there should be only straight fights against BN.

So, there may be certain constituencies where the new opposition group may have to allow PAS to fight it out with BN, especially in the East Coast states.

Even though there is no agreement openly, there must be a tacit agreement to act smart and fight smart in order to defeat BN in the next election. That must be the primary aim.

Stubbornness and intransigence will get us nowhere. We don’t want to win the battle and lose the war.

Just a Malaysian: The road to a better Malaysia is going to be long and hard. The key guiding light is the principles Pakatan Harapan subscribes to.

This principle of clean good governance and upholding of federal constitution and the principles of Rukunegara plus the universal good values of Islamic civilisation.

This moral compass should guide Pakatan Harapan along the difficult process while fighting sceptics, spinners and poisonous bloggers. May God bless Malaysia.

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