KUALA LUMPUR, March 6 — DAP leader Liew Chin Tong claimed the newly forged Umno-PAS and MCA-MIC political pacts are a racially-motivated tactic to drive a wedge within Pakatan Harapan.

The deputy defence minister called it a "scorched earth” strategy where Umno-PAS will take on the ruling coalition for the Malay votes, while MCA-MIC will attack from the "flanks” by aiming for the Pakatan’s minority base.

"Umno-PAS marriage while MCA-MIC divorcing Umno. How 2read this realignment?” Liew, a senator, tweeted this afternoon.

"I call it ‘scorched earth policy/movement strategy’.

"The mission is to tear PH apart n burn d house down thru ‘flank attack’ (Umno-PAS on Malay front; MCA-MIC on non Malay front). Racial uprising movements,” he added.

Last night, Umno announced it had formalised ties with PAS, cementing a loose political co-operation that began right after the latter left Pakatan Rakyat in 2015.

This comes just days after MCA and MIC said they were forced to seek a new alliance after Umno failed to reprimand its supreme council member, Datuk Seri Nazri Aziz, for making racist remarks.

Earlier today, Nazri, who is Barisan Nasional (BN) secretary-general, said the formalisation of the union between PAS and Umno yesterday means the end of the spirit of BN.