Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) president Mohamad Sabu grants that his party is stronger with the presence of both PKR and DAP.

But he disagreed with PAS vice-president Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah's claim that Amanah's Sungai Besar and Kuala Kangsar candidates would have lost their deposits without their allies.

“Amanah’s strength lies in Pakatan Harapan. Alone, we are not strong. But it would not be to the extent of losing our deposits,” Mohamad told Malaysiakini.

He said Amanah would remain with Pakatan Harapan as it believed a party that worked alone would not go far in the country’s political scene.

“We would look strong, but we would not win in elections, (but) Pakatan Harapan can.

“(And) we are only eight months old, if we are two years old, maybe our strength would be different,” he said.

Meanwhile, Amanah secretary-general Anuar Tahir simply did not understand why Mohd Amar had made such remarks.

“Before this he called us mad for choosing the colour orange, now he is making remarks that we would have lost our deposits if we were not with PKR and DAP.

“Why must he be making such statements? We believe in the concept of co-operation in politics. In Malaysia, no political party, including Umno, can be alone in obtaining the power to govern this country,” he said.

PAS should ponder its future

PAS should instead think about its future, since it was currently alone, he said.

Anuar added that the by-elections had given Amanah the opportunity to introduce the little-known party and its logo to the public.

“The votes we received were interesting; they were the result of political co-operation. If we were alone, we would not have received that many votes.

“The trend since independence is to work together. Any party would be left behind if it is alone,” he added.

Hitting out at Mohd Amar further, Anuar reminded him that the Islamist party had lost its deposits when it first started out.

“I want to ask him, has he forgotten history – how before there was Pakatan Rakyat, they lost their deposits all over the country; in Selangor, Negri Sembilan, Malacca and Johor?”

In Saturday’s by-elections, Amanah candidate for the Sungai Besar parliamentary seat Azhar Abdul Shukor clinched the second position in the three-cornered fight, where BN emerged victorious.

Azhar polled 7,609 votes while PAS’ Dr Abdul Rani Osman garnered 6,902 votes.

In Kuala Kangsar, Amanah candidate Ahmad Termizi Ramli came third behind PAS’ Dr Najihatussalehah Ahmad in the four-way tussle, which BN also won.