COMMENT | PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang displayed his inclinations towards Barisan Nasional when he contradicted his deputy over the treatment towards the government.

Echoing the words of the late Nik Aziz Nik Mat, Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man had earlier said that Umno cannot be trusted after Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak refused to allow Act 355 to be tabled in Parliament.

There is obviously a crack in the PAS leadership since the top two leaders could not see eye-to-eye regarding their relationship with Umno.

PAS can only be a vote-splitter

With Hadi cozying up to Umno in the lead-up to the 14th general election, it is unlikely that PAS would attract the non-Muslim voters, especially in Selangor.

At the last general election, a number of PAS seats were won with the support of the non-Muslim community. In the Umno stronghold of Paya Jaras, for example, Mohd Khairuddin Othman defeated the Umno incumbent, Muhammad Bushro Mat Johor.

This was apparently because of the support of the non-Muslim community in the constituency. Will Khairuddin be so fortunate in the coming election? I guess not.

I would rather vote for Amanah, since these were the people formerly in PAS that we are familiar with. In my opinion, PAS will be in a big dilemma.

If it fields its candidate in Paya Jaras, it would not split Umno’s votes; if it helps Umno to win, the PAS grassroots would turn against the leadership. Either way, PAS will be on the losing end.

Therefore, Pakatan Harapan should place a candidate in every constituency that PAS has a candidate. The odds are against Umno and PAS as Pakatan Harapan has a better chance of winning because PAS will become Umno’s vote-splitter.

Pakatan Harapan will enjoy the support of the non-Malay communities after Act 355 was played up by Najib’s administration. At the same time, Pakatan Harapan will win, with the support of Malay voters who support Amanah, PKR and Bersatu.

Former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad still commands a strong following, even after he left Umno.

Grateful, yet not grateful?

Hadi has seemingly forgotten that it was with the support of Pakatan Rakyat that PAS won the seats it won in the last general election.

If he is now grateful to Umno, why is he not grateful to Pakatan Rakyat, both DAP and PKR included, for putting PAS on the political landscape in the urban state of Selangor?

Perhaps, Hadi will be repeating his past when he lost Terengganu to BN in 2004, after becoming its menteri besar. He does not appear to have learnt from his mistake.

Terengganu was captured because of former opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim’s reformasi movement. It was also because Barisan Alternatif in those days had all the opposition parties, including the DAP, aligned together against BN.

If Hadi continues to helm the Islamic party, I believe PAS will be the biggest loser in the coming general election, especially with Hadi being inclined towards Umno.

STEPHEN NG is an ordinary citizen with an avid interest in following political developments in the country since 2008.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.