KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 8 — PAS is facing a brand identity crisis in its political alliance with Bersatu in their Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition, according to DAP strategist Liew Chin Tong.
The Opposition politician said the conservative Islamist party is struggling to uphold its brand of religious politics as it has to contend with the dynamics of PN, handle its position in government and also prepare to face off with Umno again in GE15.
“Being in the federal government means the party cannot burn the house down by championing racial and religious issues in a fiery tone but has to deal with legal constraints, problem solving, and managing daily affairs, none of which are PAS’ strength.
“PAS has lost its marbles as a political brand, ironically at the height of its formal power through its presence in the federal government,” Liew said in his latest blog post today.
The former DAP senator predicts that PAS may win about 10 parliamentary seats in the next general election, and may even lose the state governments of Kelantan and Terengganu to Umno.
“The only way PAS can win sufficient seats to play the ‘kingmaker’ role (Datuk Seri Abdul) Hadi (Awang) has been touting is to minimise contests in the states and areas that PAS is strong in. This makes Bersatu its logical choice as a partner as Bersatu is likely to concede most seats in the Peninsula East Coast to PAS,” he said.
Liew claimed that PAS, having been in office since 1990, is showing signs of decay in Kelantan, its stronghold.
“An important point to note is the fact that PAS won massively in Kelantan and Terengganu in GE14 by adopting Pakatan Harapan’s platforms and campaigning against Najib and Umno.
“Umno is expected to gear up for Kelantan and Terengganu as it has yet to find a formula to win across racial lines in West Coast states,” he said.
Liew predicted that Umno could gain ground in GE15, winning around 65 parliamentary seats in the peninsula.
He said that this victory would not be at Pakatan Harapan’s expense as Umno would be taking away the seats traditionally contested by PAS, in spite of their current partnership under the Muafakat Nasional accord.
