YOURSAY | “Mistake made by Hamzah is allowing himself to be labelled as PAS Lite.”

Hamzah reveals new 'Wawasan Negara' party, reappointed as opposition leader

GP2025: It is fine for Hamzah Zainudin to appreciate the support and advice of Abdul Hadi Awang.

Hamzah (above) now carries a grave responsibility in leading a new party whose base is represented by the 19 MPs who have joined him.

Certainly, he can consider the advice of a more experienced politician such as Hadi, especially during the early stages of managing a new political party.

However, once Parti Wawasan Negara is established and functioning independently, Hamzah must make it clear that he makes decisions on his own, free from external influences, and remains accountable only to the party and the support base it represents.

His confidence in leading the party must come from the people who support it and from strict adherence to the Federal Constitution.

Everything should be done according to the Constitution, with guidance from constitutional law experts. That would inspire people to consider Wawasan Negara seriously, as it would signal that the party is committed to protecting the rights of Malaysians as enshrined in the Constitution. Best wishes.

BusinessFirst: I think this is a wrong political move. Whether we like it or not, PAS and Umno/Bersatu operate to cater to specific groups.

PAS is clearly focused on the religious constituency and those educated in its tahfiz schools. Its strengths lie in the east coast, among rural Malays, and in the northern states.

Umno appeals more to Malays with nationalist leanings. Its traditional strongholds include Johor, Malacca, Negeri Sembilan and Selangor. Pahang and Perak remain contested territory between the parties.

Bersatu, an offshoot of Umno, helps PAS because dissatisfied Umno supporters have an alternative political platform.

For example, excluding supporters of Pakatan Harapan, if Umno generally defeats PAS by 60 percent to 40 percent, a Bersatu candidate could win by securing all PAS votes while attracting some Umno votes.

A similar logic applies to PKR. In a constituency that is 60 percent Malay and 40 percent non-Malay, a Malay PKR candidate with only 20 percent Malay support could still win.

The mistake made by Hamzah is allowing himself to be labelled as "PAS Lite".

If the party is perceived as being closely associated with PAS, many Harapan supporters - especially among the Chinese and Indian communities - who may dislike Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim and his government will still fear PAS more.

Without Bersatu in the equation, and if Wawasan Negara is viewed merely as PAS in disguise, the contest will revert to Umno versus PAS.

World Citizen: Wawasan Negara's name may have been approved by Hadi, but has the party itself been approved by the Registrar of Societies (ROS)?

That is the big question.

A number of new political parties have yet to receive ROS approval, so how certain can they be that this party will be registered before the 16th general election?

Hadi also appears more interested in promoting PAS, making it unclear where Wawasan fits into his political calculations.

A simple and straightforward solution would be for Hamzah and his supporters to join PAS directly.

Warm Skies: Has Wawasan Negara even received approval from the ROS?

Can Hamzah be appointed opposition leader if his party has not yet been officially registered?

It may be better for Gerakan president Dominic Lau to hold the position instead.

One should also remember that Hamzah's claimed support from 19 MPs could diminish over time, as some may be tempted to join other parties.

Many of them may not even be nominated in future elections, as they have already been branded as "traitors".

The same situation can be seen with the 14 former Umno assemblypersons in Negeri Sembilan.

Coward: I believe Hadi sees PAS as a party that has already reached the limits of its traditional support base. That base has plateaued and cannot grow much further.

He is now looking at a segment of voters just across the political divide who are reluctant to cross over directly to PAS. Bersatu previously helped attract and channel these voters towards Hadi's political agenda, but that avenue is no longer as effective.

These are the low-hanging fruit that Hadi realises PAS alone is unlikely to win over. As a result, he has put forward one person - Hamzah - to attract them.

Wawasan Negara appears to be targeting Malay-Muslim votes. The fact that Hamzah publicly credited Hadi for his guidance, both now and potentially in the future, only reinforces this perception and confirms its toxicity among non-Malay voters.

Hamzah is fully capable of organising and leading a new political party on his own. He did not need Hadi or PAS to do so.

The fact that he chose not to go it alone speaks volumes.

DonGetMeWrong: What kind of power does Hadi have that others like Muhyiddin Yassin and Hamzah lack? At the launching of his Reset movement, Hamzah declared that Hadi (his father) has chosen the party's name and given his blessing to join Perikatan Nasional.

It shows that Hamzah is riding on PAS' coattails to give his new party relevance. What a shame. Do they think PAS can win more seats than in GE15? What can PAS bring to the table if they can form the next government, being a fully Islamist party?

We had a taste of the medicine for 33 months when Umno and Bersatu betrayed the voters' trust in the infamous Sheraton Move to join with PAS to form the government. It was a living hell during that period.

PurpleCat9452: Wawasan Negara looks like nothing more than a PAS proxy party. It has no distinct ideology or clear direction of its own.

The leadership talks about a "reset", but reset what exactly?

If the agenda is ultimately no different from PAS, why launch a new party instead of simply joining PAS?

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