COMMENT Is it a major surprise to Malaysians that Umno and PAS are moving closer and closer for a final embrace? Or are Malaysians shocked beyond belief that those once-formidable foes have sunk their deep-seated differences for a new political alignment?

Whether Malaysians are surprised or shocked, the reality of this new alliance seems to be looming in the horizon. Whether such a relationship will be cemented in the form of admission of PAS into BN or a formation of a different sort of arrangement, remains to be seen.

However, most political analysts seem to think that a political relationship is in the offing.