Most PAS supporters not in favour of cooperating with Umno
A survey has revealed that over 45 percent of respondents in Selangor disagreed with the cooperation between PAS and Umno.
The poll, conducted by Institute Darul Ehsan (IDE) last November, also showed that the group's support for the government will not waver despite the fact that many policies were not seen as beneficial.
The survey also showed that the cooperation will not be helpful to the Malays, said IDE deputy chairperson Mohammad Redzuan Othman.
More worrying is that the anger of PAS supporters against the party leadership (resulting in the formation of a PAS splinter party - Parti Amanah Negara) is still running deep, he was quoted by Sinar Harian as saying.
"If there were a fight between PAS and Umno (in the general election), the supporters would support their parties respectively," he said.
"From how I looked at it, PAS would suffer if that (coorperation) were to take place. It is known that Umno would fight endlessly within itself if it was forced to give up its seats to others (component parties), what more give a seat to an outsider," he said.
"We know from Umno's history that the party was caught in the middle when there was talk about Malay unity. It looked the same to me (now)... Umno supporters will stick with Umno, while PAS' supporters still remain with the Islamic party," he said.
The people rejected the notion of cooperation as the unity between the two parties was not promising to them, added Mohammad Redzuan, a political scientist.
The survey also showed that Umno's supporters continue to be with the party despite being outraged over the 1Malaysia Development Berhad (1MDB) issue and the hike in prices.
"It is not due to misappropriation (of funds) or anger... their support for PAS or Umno will not waver," he said.
"If PAS is hoping that the (1MDB) crisis would cause Umno's supporters to swing to PAS, it would not be so as revealed in the survey,” he said.
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