PAS willing to accommodate Umno for Putrajaya return, say analysts

Analysts believe PAS is willing to play second fiddle to Umno in the Melaka election because its primary goal is returning to federal government after serving as part of it from 2020 to 2022. James Chin of the University of Tasmania stated that PAS is eager to remove Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's administration and regain power at the federal level.

Consequently, the party is prepared to make concessions, such as accommodating Umno in seat negotiations for the state election. Chin explained that even if PAS wins the state election and forms a "Malay tsunami" of seats, it still holds more parliamentary seats (43) than Umno (26). According to Chin, the size of a party's parliamentary representation does not necessarily determine its dominant role in government; rather, the office of the prime minister holds that position.

Ahmad Fadhli Shaari, PAS information chief, acknowledged that the party learned from its previous mistakes in seat negotiations and adopted a more pragmatic approach. Fadhli noted that PAS realized an uncompromising stance on seat allocations could push Barisan Nasional (BN) towards collaborating with Pakatan Harapan (PH). Azmi Hassan of Akademi Nusantara cautioned against interpreting PAS's apparent concessions in Melaka as increased accommodation towards Umno.

He argued that the transferred seats were DAP strongholds that PN would struggle to win. Hassan also mentioned that while Umno used the prospect of working with PH as leverage in its negotiations with PAS, PAS's stronger position in states like Pahang and Perak would allow it to dictate terms in seat allocations.