The Malaysian Insight

ORDINARY PAS members in the east coast states of Kelantan and Terengganu are still deeply suspicious of Umno even as their party colleagues on the west coast have started work with their new partner on joint programmes.

Grassroots leaders who have accepted a pact with Umno as an inevitability are unfazed by the notion that by reaching a compact with the nationalist Malay party, PAS appears to be condoning corruption and malfeasance, which its ally is notorious for.

PAS has been repeatedly reminded of this by Pakatan Harapan, including component Amanah, which pointed out that the Islamist party is wilfully ignoring Umno’s mismanagement of Malay institutions, such as Tabung Haji and Felda.

What is more important to the PAS grassroots is that the two largest Malay parties are uniting to oppose what they see as the erosion of Islamic institutions under the PH government.

“These issues, we put aside first. Sometimes, they are just allegations that have not yet been proven,” said Bukit Katil division head Ramli Dalip on his party getting tainted by its association with Umno.

“These things are being amplified and spread in the media by our enemies just to divide us.

“In the villages, there’s no fighting between PAS and Umno, except in the elections. We can still sit down and drink tea together. We also have family ties,” the Malacca delegate told The Malaysian Insight on the sidelines of PAS’ 65th muktamar, or annual congress.

Hassan Mohamed from Negri Sembilan is confident that PAS’ non-tolerance of corruption policy will prevail.

“Umno people involved in corruption must face the law. That is the party’s stand. No matter who it is. Umno’s stigma will not affect PAS,” said the Kuala Pilah deputy chairman.

The issue of forming a pact with Umno is taking centre stage at the muktamar. It is PAS’ hope that the partnership will evolve into a broad-based opposition front to take on PH in GE15.

The PAS top leadership hopes to convince members to put aside decades of enmity with Umno, to form a coalition centred around its Islamist ideology. The ulama wing, which charts the party’s direction, has officially endorsed a tie-up with Umno in the belief that the Malay votes for the two parties combined will outnumber those for PH to propel them into Putrajaya.

The other side of the story

In PAS strongholds Terengganu and Kelantan, however, resistance to Umno persists, albeit quietly.

“It is not just us who are lukewarm to the idea. Umno members in Terengganu don’t like it too because they feel they can take back Terengganu from us in the next elections,” said a senior leader in Terengganu PAS, who asked to remain anonymous.

“So, if they feel they have a good chance, the thinking is, why should they work with us?”

Umno lost the state to PAS in the 14th general election, but the next elections can go either way as many state seats were won by a narrow margin, he said.

“Terengganu is actually a 50-50 state. It can swing back because its voters are used to changing the state government.”

The state changed hands in 1999, and again in 2004.

A Kelantan grassroots leader, who asked not to be named, said mixed feelings are also present in the state, which PAS has ruled since 1990.

“There are different opinions on the cooperation. But I think PAS members will, in the end, follow the top leadership’s decision.”

However, PAS members in west coast states told a different story. In Malacca, PAS and Umno leaders are jointly hosting Hari Raya open houses, ceramah and religious classes.

“Our loyalty is to the president (Abdul Hadi Awang). We must prioritise Islam and Malays,” said Bukit Katil’s Ramli.

In Johor, Sri Gading division leader Mohamad Ash’ari Sidon said the rapport between PAS and Umno is such that he can no longer tell which members belong to which party at their joint events.

“In the past, Umno members would wear the songkok and PAS members, the kopiah. Now, everyone wears the kopiah, even the Umno guys.”

Instead of fearing being corrupted by Umno, said Ash’ari, the pact has given him the opportunity to preach PAS’ principles to Umno.

“For me, it’s a chance to tell Umno members about the evils of corruption.”

Isran Fahmi Ismail from Perak, too, dismissed the idea that PAS is sullying its name by working with Umno.

“That’s a matter of opinion. We don’t have a problem with it,” said the Sg Siput division chief. – June 22, 2019.