Gerakan, MIPP akan ikut ke mana saja PAS pergi, kata penganalisis

A political analyst has stated that the decisions of Gerakan and MIPP to remain in Perikatan Nasional (PN) suggest they are more comfortable continuing with PAS compared to Bersatu. Sivamurugan Pandian from Universiti Sains Malaysia points out that the two parties may stick with PAS if the Islam party provides sufficient electoral choices and a clear political identity for them.

He also notes that Gerakan and MIPP may prefer PN to continue existing, but they may join PAS in a new political alliance if the PN registration is cancelled. "They want to keep PN, but if Bersatu tends to work with Pakatan Harapan (PH), the plus point for Bersatu in keeping PN, as long as PN's registration is not cancelled," he explains.

If this happens, PAS, Wawasan, Gerakan, and MIPP might revive MN as a new alliance, referring to Muafakat Nasional. The Election Department of Registration (JPPM) has suspended PN after issuing a notice to the alliance to explain the complaint raised by Bersatu. JPPM's Lau Zhe Wei points out that the relationship among parties in PN is more important than its formal structure.

"If PN is cancelled, they can form another alliance with a different name and recreate the same structure. If there is not enough time to form a new alliance before elections, they can run under another party, most likely PAS or Wawasan." He clarifies that the decision of Gerakan and MIPP to stay in PN shows they are more comfortable being with PAS than Bersatu.

"If Gerakan or MIPP are truly closer to Bersatu and want to stay with that party, they can leave PN and form another alliance or join Bersatu. But that's not happening in the next few months. They seem comfortable staying in PN, or in other words, with PAS." PAS could be the deciding factor for small parties, according to Wong Chin Huat from Universiti Sunway.

He believes small parties like MIPP and Gerakan won't have enough influence to determine the political setup after PN. "The bottom line is that MIPP and Gerakan are not the decision-makers. PAS and Wawasan are. If PAS and Wawasan decide to put their candidates in PRN Melaka, they will run as part of the PAS block. They might run under a PAS ticket."

If the registration of PN is cancelled, he says, the only impact would be the logo used by PN candidates, which might not be as appealing to some voters. Ultimately, the decision of Gerakan and MIPP will depend on the electoral requirements. These parties are not specifically tied to PAS, Wawasan, or Bersatu. Instead, they will support any party capable of bringing voters to them because they cannot achieve sufficient support based on their own strength.

"Cancellation of PN registration will not diminish their chances of running. That depends on strategic considerations of PAS and Wawasan."