KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 11 — Beside one of the ministry booths at the World Trade Centre Kuala Lumpur, Muhammad Awang stood with a friend and picked up a copy of Utusan Malaysia from a pile laid out for delegates as others milled around the Umno general assembly.
At 68, the Umno Kuala Krai division secretary has seen the party’s relationship with PAS shift from cooperation to rivalry and back again.
But as Umno now looks to forge a fresh understanding with its former political rival, Muhammad believes the past should not stand in the way of trying again.
“We have to put aside our respective egos. We have to be big-hearted,” he told Malay Mail on the sidelines of the assembly here.
Muhammad said any renewed cooperation between Umno and PAS would require both sides to make compromises, particularly over the allocation of seats in the next election.
“If it is Kelantan, we should give it to Umno. Elsewhere, we should also give seats to PAS. Let it be balanced,” he said.
His comments came as Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi called for greater political understanding between the country’s existing political coalitions in his speech at the assembly this morning.
Zahid revived his proposal for a “Grand Collaboration”, which he said was not about merging political parties but creating an understanding to avoid political clashes that could be damaging to all sides.
He described the political understanding as one based on prioritising common interests, respecting differences in ideology and identity, and practising tolerance and flexibility.
But he also stressed that political partners must not betray one another, warning against building an understanding during the day while plotting to bring down a partner at night.
For Muhammad, that warning is particularly relevant given Umno and PAS’ previous experience under Muafakat Nasional.
“Umno and PAS had Muafakat Nasional before, but it never reached the stage of being translated into an election. We did not have the chance to see it through.
“So we do not want to split for a second time. We have been separated several times and we do not want to be bitten by the same snake in the same hole,” he said.
Still, Muhammad said the previous breakdown should not prevent both parties from trying again.
He said both sides would need to put aside their egos and be willing to make concessions for the sake of Malay-Muslim unity.
For him, that meant accepting that neither side could expect to get everything it wanted, including when deciding which party should contest certain seats.
An Umno Kuala Lumpur delegate in his 60s, who declined to be named, similarly said PAS’ previous political decisions should be treated as a lesson rather than an obstacle to future cooperation.
“This is politics. We should do whatever can benefit Umno,” he said.
Muhammad acknowledged that there had been what he described as many instances of betrayal, including PAS previously discussing Malay-Muslim unity with Umno before choosing to work with other political partners.
But he said he personally believed Umno and PAS should work together in the next general election.
“If we are divided, we are not strong. So I see this as a good step towards making the Malays and Muslims strong again,” he said.
Asked whether the past should now be left behind, he replied: “Yes, exactly. It is a lesson.”
He said he hoped the relationship now being built between Umno and PAS would not repeat the problems of their previous alliances.
The willingness to move on, however, does not appear to mean delegates have forgotten what happened before.
For Shah Zanuriman Nuar Paras Khan, 40, the Selayang Umno Youth chief, rebuilding trust would require both sides to be clear about what they expect from one another.
“To avoid being betrayed, there needs to be a spirit of camaraderie, loyalty, mutual understanding and clear boundaries,” he said.
Shah added that the same stability delegates were looking for within Umno could also be important if the party were to work with other political partners.
“There are all sorts of disputes between the other parties. Bersatu is falling apart, then there are cracks here and there, and they are constantly fighting.
“Umno, meanwhile, remains stable. So I think that is what makes the people see Umno as remaining stable and maintaining its own momentum. There are no internal fights, no Camp A or Camp B, nothing like that.
“So perhaps the people are looking for stability amid an uncertain economic situation, and they see Umno as more stable than the other parties,” he said.
That balance between forgiveness and caution was also reflected in Zahid’s speech, where his call for political understanding was accompanied by a warning that agreements must be honoured.
The Umno president said political cooperation should allow parties to preserve their own identities, stressing that “Umno remains Umno” and “Barisan Nasional remains Barisan Nasional”.
For delegates like Muhammad, that may be the basis on which a new relationship with PAS can be built: not by pretending the past did not happen, but by deciding it should not dictate what comes next.
After years of political shifts between the two parties, he said it was time to try again with a more carefully negotiated understanding.
