PETALING JAYA: Umno may fall into a trap laid by PPBM and PAS if it accepts a proposal to form a grand coalition with Perikatan Nasional and Gabungan Parti Sarawak, according to political analysts.
Awang Azman Pawi of Universiti Malaya said the coalition would mark the downfall of Umno as an autonomous Malay party.
“Umno will not benefit from it as they will have to listen to PPBM and PAS,” he told FMT.
He said the majority of the party members may reject the proposal for that reason, although some Umno leaders may be keen to work more closely with PPBM.
However, such a grand union was the only way for PPBM and PAS to survive.
PPBM secretary-general Hamzah Zainudin had suggested earlier that the grand coalition would ensure continuity of an informal consensus reached when Perikatan Nasional took power after Dr Mahathir Mohamad resigned in February.
But Awang Azman said PPBM lacked grassroot support and was aware that they needed a partnership with Umno to win the next general election. Working with PAS alone would not guarantee victory.
However, using the grand coalition, PAS would be able to dominate Kelantan, Terengganu and Kedah, and deprive Umno of any claim on Terengganu.
He said PPBM will also be assured of proper seats under the grand coalition. “PPBM realises that GE15 can be held at any time and they need Umno to survive. PAS alone cannot promise them victory,” he added.
Umno’s failure to join hands with PH in Perak
Awang Azman added that Umno could have worked with PH to form a majority state government in Perak.
But objections from Umno members unhappy at the possibility of Umno having to work with DAP had caused a U-turn.
“There are still state assemblymen who believe in the old rhetoric about not working with DAP,” he said.
FMT had previously reported that almost half of Umno state assemblymen had rejected the proposal to work with DAP after the fall of the Ahmad Faizal Azumu government by a confidence vote.
Another political analyst, Azizuddin Mohd Sani of Universiti Utara Malaysia, told FMT that Umno and PH may find it easier to discuss seat allocation as they had different target voters.
If they combined their efforts, they would be likely to form a strong government, he said.
“But opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim would need to be a middle man between Umno and DAP to calm things down,” he said.
On Dec 6, Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi did not rule out the possibility of forming a coalition with other parties, including those from Pakatan Harapan (PH), including DAP, to form the new government in Perak.