The DAP may have felt vindicated for its decision to part ways with the Islamic party after Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s confirmation that Umno is working with PAS.

But for Gerakan’s Baljit Singh, DAP has only itself to blame for the situation as party leaders have all along promoted PAS as a viable ally, from 2008 up to last year.

It was only in June this year, after PAS cut ties with DAP, that the latter announced that Pakatan Rakyat (Pakatan) is dead, and proceeded to form Pakatan Harapan with PAS splinter group, Parti Amanah Negara.

PAS became strong, he said, not because of its supporters but due to the support of non-Muslims who put their trust in DAP and then Pakatan, which had high hopes of seizing Putrajaya from BN in the 2013 general election.

This plan, however, failed and BN was back in power and Umno wants to cooperate with PAS.

“Working together is not the same as joining BN,” said Baljit, who is Gerakan's national legal and human rights bureau chief.

“The DAP is also working with PAS in Selangor; however, if PAS is joining BN, then it is a completely different ball game,” Baljit told Malaysiakini .

“If both are cooperating for the benefit of the people and nation, it is acceptable but if it involves personal political agenda, where we have to sacrifice the country’s constitution (in favour of hudud law), then it is something we have to carefully look at,” he said.

“If PAS wants to join BN, the constitution says all component parties must agree to it. Will BN work with PAS? This is the question,” he said, adding that Gerakan had opposed PAS strongly because of its hudud agenda.

Baljit was referring the latest development where BN president and Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak confirmed that Umno was cooperating with PAS.

Gua Musang MP Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah has welcomed the cooperation as a " good offer " to PAS, although he wonders if this is acceptable to the grassroots.

Umno Terengganu, via its delegate Din Adam, also urged members not to view PAS as the main enemy of the party due to its Malay support. View DAP as the main enemy instead, he added.

Baljit questioned if PAS was willing to work with Umno to make its dream of implementing hudud a reality, recalling that DAP split with PAS after the latter’s president Abdul Hadi Awang moved to table a private member's bill on hudud in Parliament.

He dreaded to think of the outcome if PAS, PKR, Umno and other component parties which have large Muslim representation voted according to their personal religious inclinations instead of party line if hudud were again tabled in Parliament.

“But who do we thank for it? Those who play with fire, have now got their fingers burnt. Remember, even non-Muslims were willing to vote with PAS because DAP promoted them, “ he recalled.

DAP's folly

“In politics, no one is enemy or friends forever, because eventually, politics is a numbers game, and PAS managed to obtain 28 seats, thanks to the DAP, which convinced the non-Muslims that hudud is only for Umno Malays.

“Now we are all experiencing the repercussions of DAP’s folly,” Baljit said.

Asked how would Gerakan campaign on the ground in the coming polls when the party had been constantly slamming PAS for its hudud agenda, Baljit said it would be the same for DAP as its ally PKR is in cahoots with PAS in Selangor.

Baljit said the grassroots will also be extremely confused over the opposition bloc and would question if it were the old Pakatan or the new opposition coalition Harapan that would lead the fight to capture Putrajaya.

“To say Harapan is not working with PAS is not accurate also because of the Selangor scenario; besides, DAP is working now with PAS’s little brother Amanah.

“Amanah may not be priotising hudud, but it has not abandoned the pursuit of the Islamic law, it is just not the party’s priority for now,” said Baljit, taking another dig at DAP for giving its full support to the new Muslim-based political force.