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The impressive performance by the opposition during the 1990 and 1999 general elections was attributed to the existence of a two-coalition system in Malaysia.

On both occasions they were the works of the Umno splinter parties - Semangat 46 (1990) and Keadilan (1999).

It takes Umno or Umno's splinter parties to group the other non-Malay political parties into a coalition pact.

Semangat 46 brokered a pact with DAP, PRM, PBS and Kimma (Association of Malaysian Indian Muslims), forming the Gagasan Rakyat and giving the Umno-led Barisan Nasional a real scare during the 1990 general election.

With the co-operation of Malay and Muslim-based opposition parties - grouped under Angkatan Perpaduan Ummah (APU) - PAS successfully recaptured Kelantan from BN and the opposition won 35 seats in Parliament (up from 29 in 1986), while BN's seats dropped from 148 to 127 and its share of the votes declined to 52 percent from 57.3 percent in 1986.

And in the 1999 general election, Keadilan took the initiative to gather the major opposition parties - PAS, DAP and PRM - under an opposition pact, Barisan Alternatif. Using a common manifesto, it helped coalition member PAS, to retain Kelantan and also successfully capture Terengganu from BN.

Although in those two general elections BN was returned to power, APU, Gagasan Rakyat and BA had provided a strong and more organised opposition to BN that led to many believing that BN could be denied its two-third majority in Parliament.

This mutual co-operation between the Umno splinter parties and non-Malay parties has indeed improved the opposition's chances of not only the posibility of denying BN the two-third majority, but even forming the next government.

It also indicated that the non-Malays have subconsciously accepted the concept of Ketuanan Melayu or "Malay supremacy".

Clear demarcatioin

While this opposition coalition is probably workable with the Umno splinter parties, it is not so with PAS. PAS' heavy focus on Islamic issues to garner support from Malays/Muslims is evident in the east-coast states of Kelantan and Terengganu, and the northern states of Kedah and Perlis.

In fact, there has been a clear demarcation between the two largest Malay dominated parties - with Umno focusing on Malay nationalism and PAS going on the religious line.

The majority of the non-Malays - be they in BN or the opposition - have come to trust Umno or its splinter parties to continue to uphold the spirit of the Federal Constitution which provides room for all citizens to exercise their right, including freedom of religion and mother-tongue education.

The more extreme PAS becomes, the easier it is for Umno to get the people's mandate to continue ruling the country. As long as PAS continues to cross swords with DAP, for example, the strength of the opposition can never be fully harnested.

At the moment, PAS is clearly concentrating its efforts more on capturing additional states, rather than the federal government. After comfortably having Kelantan and Terengganu under its rule, the party is now targetting the other two Malay-dominated states - Kedah and Perlis.

Only by winning such states can PAS justify its struggle to set up an Islamic state in Malaysia.

Already in Kedah - the home state of Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the party has wrested 12 state seats and eight parliamentary seats out of 36 and 15 respectively. And the PAS leadership is confident that the state will be theirs after the next general election.

Non-Muslim support

However, as long as PAS continues to subscribe to its Islamic state concept, there is virtually no way for PAS and the non-Muslim opposition parties, including DAP, to sit together to discuss the formation of the next government.