{
  "id": 19897523,
  "title": "Penganalisis ingatkan Umno jangan anggap ‘tongkat’ PAS kekuatan sendiri",
  "url": "https://urgent.news/2026/11/14/penganalisis-ingatkan-umno-jangan-anggap-tongkat-pas-kekuatan-sendiri",
  "topic": "world",
  "section": "World",
  "published": "2026-11-14T01:00:00.000Z",
  "source": {
    "name": "Free Malaysia Today",
    "slug": "free-malaysia-today-freemalays",
    "url": "https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/bahasa/tempatan/2026/11/14/penganalisis-ingatkan-umno-jangan-anggap-tongkat-pas-kekuatan-sendiri"
  },
  "original_language": "en",
  "account": "Analysts have cautioned the United Malays National Organisation (Umno) against overestimating PAS as the sole strength of their coalition. Zahid Hamidi, the Vice President of Umno and Deputy Prime Minister, warned that relying on cooperation with PAS could be a risky assumption, suggesting that dissolving Parliament might be a better alternative to form a new mandate before swearing in a new Cabinet, following speculation of Cabinet reshuffles. Ahmad Zaharuddin Sani Ahmad Sabri from Global Asia Consulting stated that Umno's political momentum, especially leading up to the 14th General Election (PRN Melaka), might not genuinely reflect the party's true strength, as some of it could be attributed to collaboration with PAS. \"Don't think that holding a stick will make one believe they can run faster,\" he told FMT. He highlighted the 2015 General Election (PRU15) results where Barisan Nasional (BN) won 30 parliamentary seats, compared to PAS's 79 seats, questioning how far Umno has come in regaining the youth and Malay voter support that shifted to the Perikatan Nasional (PN) party. \"Winning in Melaka, if achieved, is not an automatic guarantee to win across Malaysia,\" he emphasized, stressing that each state has distinct demographics, sentiments, and political competition. Umno should ask themselves a potentially uncomfortable question: if PAS withdraws its support or opts for independence, how many seats can Umno truly secure? The academic from Universiti Teknologi Malaysia (UTM), Mazlan Ali, pointed out that relying solely on PAS is a risky bet because PAS also considers political gains in every decision. He also pointed out the main challenge in Umno-PAS cooperation as the division of seats, particularly in the SG4 region (Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah, and Perlis), where PAS aims to retain its strongholds. He further questioned whether Umno could surrender those seats to PAS, fearing they might not be reclaimed. Previous studies also found PAS to have a more significant influence than Umno in Selangor. Therefore, Umno should consider cooperation with other parties, including Pakatan Harapan (PH), as a more sensible approach due to PH's focus on urban areas and mixed demographics.",
  "summary": "Ahmad Zaharuddin Sani Ahmad Sabri mengingatkan Umno tidak terlalu yakin menghadapi PRU16 kerana kerjasama dengan PAS berdepan cabaran pembahagian kerusi.",
  "key_points": [],
  "editors_take": null,
  "illustration": null,
  "coverage": {
    "outlets": 1,
    "also_reported_by": []
  },
  "ai_generated": true,
  "disclaimer": "Summaries, key points and the editor’s take are written by software from other outlets’ reporting and may contain errors — always check the linked original."
}