ANALYSIS Party leaders may have shot down a merger between Amanah and PKR, but the proposal may hold the key for Pakatan Harapan to win PAS over to their side.

PAS has refused to play ball with Harapan, due to a grudge against its former members who had formed Amanah, and against DAP.

The bitterness has made it nearly impossible for Harapan and PAS to find any middle ground, and has derailed efforts to ensure straight fights against BN in the next general election.

Analysts however believe that an Amanah-PKR merger may help somewhat to neutralise tensions.

"If it (the merger) is towards consolidating the opposition, and can get rid of the animosity between Amanah and PAS, why not?" Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia professor Faisal Hazis told Malaysiakini.

Universiti Malaysia Sarawak-based pundit Jeniri Amir echoed this when contacted.

"Amanah is PAS' splinter party, so a (PKR) merger may help to cut off some tensions and make it easier for PAS to want to cooperate (with Harapan)," Jeniri said.

The merger however is not a magic solution, as it does not address the feud between PAS and DAP, which caused the break up of the previous Pakatan Rakyat opposition pact.

However DAP, unlike Amanah, has very few overlapping seats with PAS, therefore cooperation between the two is not entirely necessary.

With Amanah out of the picture after the merger, PAS may find an electoral pact with PKR and new Harapan ally Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) easier to bear.

This could also make seat negotiations much easier, as PKR and PAS will only have to make room for only one party - Bersatu - instead of two.

PKR upper hand

However, despite the possible upsides, both Amanah and PKR may not find the idea agreeable.

A merger would leave several senior politicians within Amanah without leadership positions, and PKR is not likely to give them such posts freely.

"Amanah is seen as the weakest link in Harapan," Jeniri said.

"A strong party (like PKR) is unlikely to give way to a weaker party, and a weak party like Amanah is unlikely to want a merger if it doesn't give them an advantage."

There is also the matter of differing political ideologies, with Amanah as a Islamic democrat party, and PKR on a more liberal platform.

However Faizal said a merger would help both parties to become more centrist, which would appeal to middle ground voters.

The Amanah-PKR merger was proposed by the latter's deputy youth chief Afif Bahardin to strengthen the opposition.

Senior leaders from both parties however quickly shot down the idea, with PKR secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution saying that Amanah should be given room to grow.