Is Perikatan Nasional unofficially off?

Is Perikatan Nasional unofficially off?





WHEN Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang signed the Malay Proclamation, Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was conspicuously absent.


Muhyiddin is the chairman of Perikatan Nasional (PN) which represents both Bersatu and PAS.

It is obvious that both Hadi and Muhyiddin are not on the same page, as both the Islamist party led by Hadi and Bersatu led by Muhyiddin are already drifting apart, since Bersatu is no longer of any use to PAS.


According to Bersatu information chief Datuk Razali Idris, the former prime minister “supports Malay Proclamation but it is not yet time to sit together with Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad.”

This explains why Dr Mahathir is desperately trying to reach out to Muhyiddin by extending him an olive branch, and Muhyiddin has no choice but to accept it since PAS has likely abandoned its bedfellow. Essentially, his position as chairman of PN could have become null.

PAS was apparently riding on Muhyiddin when he was the country’s eighth prime minister, but Muhyiddin did not choose a PAS leader – in particular Hadi – to succeed him as the ninth prime minister.

For this reason, the relationship between the two could have soured to a point that UMNO president Datuk Seri Zahid Hamidi had announced that there might soon be a split in a particular coalition. Although Zahid did not name the coalition, it is likely that this could be the PN.

The claim that there was a “green wave” had given too much credit to PAS, which uses the colour on its flag (Bersatu is red), with Bersatu unable to enjoy the fruits of their efforts to bring the coalition together.

Muhyiddin probably regrets that his trust in Hadi had not worked out well, which is why he appears lukewarm towards Dr Mahathir’s olive branch.

Last week, Dr Mahathir offered to work together with Muhyiddin, and knowing Dr Mahathir, Muhyiddin’s response was anything but enthusiastic.

But he has no choice as his court cases brought against him by the Malaysia Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) are still pending in court, and meanwhile, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (PMX) is fast consolidating his position as the country’s favourite prime minister.

PMX’s third visit to Sabah and his sincerity in solving the water woes in Sabah shows that he is aware that opposition leaders are also trying to woo Sabahans.

Instead of allowing his plans to bring solutions to the people in states including Kelantan with its very own “air kelate” (a Kelantanese way of expressing their water woes) to be thwarted, PMX’s trip to Sabah was strategic in an effort to renew ties.




Of late, the opposition and their speeches have shown signs of an imminent breakup, possibly to happen right after the state elections. Although they may deny it, the signs are there.

Instead of coming together to formulate better policies to woo the voters, salvos are shot in all directions to try to destabilise PMX’s position and destroy his credibility as the country’s favourite prime minister thinking that they could once again establish their rule using the Sheraton Move approach.

Instead of focusing on how to revive the country’s economy, leaders such as Hadi are again riding on race and religion, and merely accusing the PMX and his cabinet for failure to establish a Malay-Muslim leadership.

Meanwhile, Kedah Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor is a loose cannon, which is ridiculed even by Malay-Muslim youths themselves who are apparently expressing displeasure with the current opposition.

There are also rumours that PAS leadership may also split the way it happened during the break-up between the ulama and the faction led by its former deputy president Datuk Seri Mohamad Sabu who is currently Amanah president.

The split, which happened after the death of the well-respected Tan Sri Nik Aziz Nik Mat, shows that Hadi is not of the same calibre as the late Tok Guru who was able to hold both groups together.

In a latest revelation by former UMNO supreme council member Datuk Lokman Noor Adam, it is likely that even Hadi may lose his position as the Marang MP.

This may once again trigger further crisis within PN, with many of its supporters turning to the Madani government instead.

The more we observe, the more likely it is that the opposition is already in disarray with no significant leader to pull the coalition together, as the once knight-in-shining-armour, nonagenarian Dr Mahathir himself is already rejected even by his supporters in Langkawi. – June 5, 2023