COMMENT Dr Mahathir Mohamad once again hogged the limelight with his controversial remarks. This time around, he lamented how Umno is forced to beg the Chinese for their votes.

Following this, ex-top editor Kadir A Jasin, a close associate of the former premier, skewered Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak.

Kadir argued that the Umno president’s desperation for Chinese votes has put him at odds with others in the party.

The right-wing elements both in and out of Umno have consistently expressed reservations about Najib (below) pandering to the Chinese, claiming that he was putting Malay support at risk.

And in the last general election, the Chinese community voted for the opposition and delivered a blow to the Umno president.

But now it appears that where Najib had failed, PAS would succeed.

The Islamic party’s insistence on pressing ahead with its hudud amendment in Kelantan on Dec 29 has placed opposition bloc Pakatan Rakyat on the brink of collapse.

Predictably, DAP leaders have been up in arms. A similar conflict in 2001 saw DAP withdrawing from the then opposition pact Barisan Alternatif.

Its traditional arch rival MCA has also been prodding DAP to make a strong stand against PAS on this issue.

Would this latest imbroglio turn the tables as far as Chinese votes are concerned?

Has the community grown tired of this never-ending tussle, which paints a bleak picture for the nation’s political and economic stability should Pakatan seize federal power.   

Conversations with the Chinese community revealed that there is great disappointment with PAS, with many vowing never to cast their ballots for the party again.

While PAS candidates in Kelantan might not feel the blowback, others, including those from PKR and DAP surely would.

DAP fears ghost of 1999

In this context, DAP is caught in a bind.

During the last general election, the party convinced Chinese voters to back PAS on the ground that the latter would not forge ahead with its hudud plan.

And now DAP is afraid that the ghost of the 1999 general election would be resurrected, where even the likes of political giants, now Gelang Patah MP Lim Kit Siang and the late Karpal Singh (below) were vanquished.

PAS leaders have made it clear that the choice is obvious when it comes to picking between implementing God-ordained laws and conquering the administrative capital.

The Islamic party itself is divided over this issue.

Becoming a partner of DAP and setting its sights on Putrajaya were only included into PAS’ agenda following the sacking of Anwar Ibrahim in 1998.

Prior to that, those who joined the party were drawn to its theocratic ideals and have watched with disdain how its leaders had to tweak the blueprint to suit those of other faiths.

Umno has never failed to remind PAS of how it is allegedly beholden to the Chinese-majority DAP and therefore compromising its Islamic ideals.

The question is, has the situation reached a point where if Najib calls for snap polls, BN may regain its two-third parliamentary majority?

Would Pakatan, should it still remain intact till then, be on the receiving end of the next ‘Chinese tsunami’?

But if Umno extends its support to Kelantan PAS over the bid to amend the enactment to bring hudud into the state, then it too risks antagonising its coalition partners and alienating Chinese voters.

These are interesting times indeed. This is an era where allies can become foes and foes can become allies.

Apart from driving away Chinese votes, PAS may also succeed where BN prime ministers since Dr Mahathir Mohamad had failed - to turn Anwar’s dream into a nightmare.

RK ANAND and NG LING FONG are members of the Malaysiakini team.