COMMENT | In Malaysian politics, a three-cornered electoral contest has always been the Achilles' heel of the opposition. But this is not the case with PAS-induced three-cornered fights, that the Islamist party has threatened to create in the coming 14th general election.

The simple reason is that PAS is now not a genuine opposition party.

In fact, the party at this moment is exhibiting all the symptoms of schizophrenia – concurrently anti-Umno and pro-Umno, depending on which leader is speaking and when.

But soon, PAS will have to shed its anti-Umno cloak when Parliament is dissolved and nomination and polling day are announced. The surfacing of the anticipated strategy to avoid clashes between PAS and Umno in their respective strongholds, particularly in Kelantan, will reveal their true intent. Such evidence of PAS-Umno political collusion will further be reinforced by PAS fielding candidates in unnecessarily large numbers of seats where it doesn’t stand the remotest chance of winning.

These PAS candidates are now described as Umno’s “suicide bombers” – sacrificial lambs at the altar of Umno’s political hegemony.

Moment of truth

This will be the moment of truth that will do PAS and Umno in.

For the eventual full exposure of such political conspiracy designed as a lifeline to save Umno from political defeat is expected to cause massive defection from PAS. This is because grassroots members and supporters of PAS have long fought to remove its arch-enemy, the allegedly corrupt and racist Umno, as a stumbling block to PAS’ long cherished dream to fully realise Islamic values in the country.

That PAS is fearful of this eventuality is evident from its panic-stricken reaction when the Straits Times of Singapore revealed that PAS President Abdul Hadi Awang had allegedly been in almost daily conversation with Umno president and Prime Minister Najib Razak (even during Hadi’s recovery from his recent heart surgery) to plot to take Selangor from the opposition coalition Pakatan Harapan in the next election.

A chorus of PAS leaders including Deputy President Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man then instantly sprang to vehemently deny the allegation, while, tellingly, the man at the centre of the allegation, Hadi Awang, has remained deafeningly silent to date.

A toothless tiger

And Umno, which has counted on PAS to save its own skin, will find its new cohort a tiger without its teeth.

Under such circumstances, the much-hyped three-cornered fights will not only cease to be an unmitigated disaster to the opposition, but could become a deadly affliction to Umno/BN. The reversal of roles from an opposition party to become part of the ruling camp will cause PAS to split votes that will otherwise flock to Umno. In other words, Umno could be at the receiving end of the ill fruits of a Harapan-PAS-Umno contest.

But there is one proviso to this scenario. Harapan must be able to convince sufficient numbers of PAS-inclined voters that the party has betrayed its original cause.

As typical of all political parties, PAS will have its hardcore voters and non-hardcore voters. It is the latter, which should exceed the former, that will decide which direction the PAS two-edged sword will cut.

Hence, it is of vital importance that PAS members and supporters be fully informed and convinced of the true role PAS is playing in the muddled political battlefield. In this respect, the effectiveness of information dissemination becomes crucial.

Unfortunate for the opposition, it suffers the handicap of zero access to TV channels and newspapers to propagate its views, and these media are precisely the main source of news for conservative supporters of PAS.

Thus, Harapan has no alternative but to go from town to town and village to village to reach these voters. Such effort is time and manpower consuming and slow.

Move decisively now

For that reason, Harapan must start its campaign now without delay, to allow the true picture to sink in and change mindsets where it counts, as the election could be just around the corner.

In this connection, PKR must close ranks on the hitherto divisive issue of negotiating with PAS, and wholeheartedly join Harapan to campaign aggressively to win over PAS supporters, in addition to exposing Umno’s heinous corruption, and making the case that its reform agenda and brand of good governance will alleviate the people’s hardship.

PKR should feel assured that its much-feared three-cornered fights will be neutered in most cases, as the loss of PAS’ hardcore voters would be more than compensated by the anticipated bumper crossover of Umno’s traditional Malay voters who are disillusioned with the party’s atrocious betrayal of public trust.

With a united opposition front resolutely facing off a weakened Umno/BN and a maimed PAS, God willing, the much longed-for change would come to the country.

KIM QUEK is the author of the banned book “The March to Putrajaya” and best seller “Where to, Malaysia?”.

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