Sikap PAS beri laluan perkukuh peluang Zahid jadi PM, kata penganalisis

PAS is providing Zahid Hamidi additional opportunities to potentially become the Prime Minister, according to analyst Mazlan Ali. The Malaysian politician has stated that the Barisan Nasional (BN) party plans to contest 21 parliamentary seats in Melaka during the 2021 election, with PAS and its allies contesting seven seats. The analyst believes that the likelihood of Zahid becoming Prime Minister could strengthen if PAS continues to play a supportive role in BN's broader cooperation.

Although both parties deny any electoral pact between BN and Perikatan Nasional (PN), PAS only contested 11 out of 56 seats in Johor and requested its supporters to back BN candidates in areas not contested by PN. Ahead of the next general election, PAS President Hadi Awang also offered support to the state government led by BN if the coalition fails to secure a majority and does not require a Deputy Prime Minister or exco position.

This cooperation has become more structured in Negeri Sembilan, where BN contests 25 seats while PN contests the remaining 11, winning 25 out of 36 seats in the 1st of August general election. BN aims to retain all its parliamentary seats, despite losing all six parliamentary seats in Melaka during the 2022 PRU15. Mazlan believes that PAS may need to support Zahid as Prime Minister if their cooperation secures a majority in the 2026 Parliamen and Umno wins more seats than PAS.

While PAS chairman Hamzah Zainudin could also be considered for the position, Mazlan stressed that Umno is not willing to hand over the Prime Ministerial position to a factional party.