Following the break up of Pakatan Rakyat, PAS may have to face the next general election on its own.

Based on this, Umno supreme council member Tajuddin Abdul Rahman said the Islamist party is no match for Umno.

He pointed out that PAS only won 21 out of the 73 parliamentary seats it contested in the last general election as a member of Pakatan Rakyat.

"Even if the party wins in all the (73) seats in the next election, it will not take Putrajaya. Moreover, Umno contests under BN's ticket with all the component parties," he said.

The Umno leader was responding to Perkasa chief Ibrahim Ali, who said Umno would lose its share of Malays votes to PAS, now that the latter has severed ties with DAP.

Disillusioned with PAS

While Ibrahim said the Malays have lost faith in Umno, Tajuddin claimed that those in the rural constituencies have become disillusioned with PAS.

"Many of the rural voters may cross over to Umno as they longer believe that PAS can bring a better future of Malaysia," said the deputy minister.

Tajuddin also dismissed the accuracy of a survey conducted by Perkasa amongst its members, which showed that 90 percent would vote against Umno in the next polls.

He questioned the survey conducted by Perkasa, which showed 90 percent of members surveyed would vote against BN in the next general election, might not reflect the truth.

"The survey may not be comprehensive, I believe Perkasa didn't ask every member. Does Perkasa know why its members are against Umno?" he said.

Tajuddin also believes that Perkasa members could have been misled by unverified information and rumours circulating in social media.

Concerned about social media

He conceded that Umno too is concerned that voters would be influenced by these issues.

"We are afraid of the protest by those who are not aware of the truth, these are partyless fence-sitters," he said.

As a remedial measure, he said Umno has directed the information unit in every division to explain the allegations made against Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, Umno and the government.

"I strongly believe the public and Perkasa members will change their mind to a more positive perception of Umno," he said.

Tajuddin even cited the arrest of an ex-PetroSaudi staff in relation to alleged blackmail, saying it would help clear the air on the 1MDB issue, as the emails leaked by PetroSaudi International (PSI) were allegedly tempered with.

"When he (Xavier Jutso) is charged in court, justice and truth will prevail," he said.