Penganalisis ingatkan Umno jangan anggap ‘tongkat’ PAS kekuatan sendiri

An analyst has warned Umno against assuming PAS is the sole source of its strength. In an interview with FMT, Ahmad Zaharuddin Sani Ahmad Sabri of Global Asia Consulting stated that Umno should not mistake cooperation with PAS as their own strength. He advised that the party should not assume they can stand on their own without the support of their political allies.

Zahid Hamidi, the Vice President of Umno, suggested that it would be better for Parlimen to be dissolved to give a fresh mandate to the public before forming a new Cabinet, in response to speculation about Cabinet reshuffles. Ahmad Zaharuddin emphasized that Umno has yet to prove their ability to operate independently without the support of their political partners.

He pointed to the 2015 General Election (PRU15) results, where BN only won 30 parliamentary seats compared to 79 in 2014, questioning just how much ground the party can regain among young and Malay voters who have shifted to Perikatan Nasional (PN). Zahid Hamidi also mentioned that winning in Melaka, should it happen, would not guarantee victory across Malaysia, as each state has its own demographics, sentiments, and political competition.

Meanwhile, Mazlan Ali noted that Zahid's confidence in accelerating PRU16 is driven by momentum in Johor and Negeri Sembilan, and hopes of winning in Melaka through cooperation with PAS. However, he cautioned that relying solely on PAS may be a risky gamble, as the party also considers the political gains and losses in each decision.

Mazlan highlighted the main challenge of the cooperation between the two parties is the division of seats, particularly in SG4 (Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah, and Perlis) where PAS wants to maintain the areas they have won. He also questioned whether Umno would be willing to cede those seats to PAS due to the risk of not regaining them.

According to him, previous studies have also found that PAS has more influence than Umno in Selangor, suggesting that Umno would be better off considering cooperation with other parties, such as Pakatan Harapan (PH), for easier seat management due to PH's focus on urban areas and mixed demographics.