KUALA LUMPUR: Several blogs have highlighted the concern of some Chinese on the possible cooperation between Umno and Pas post the May 5 general election.
This to them will lead to the possibility of the two parties pursuing the setting up of an Islamic state as well as the implementation of hudud.
A blog post at The Unspinners highlighted that there is a group of educated Chinese who realised that their pledge of not supporting Barisan Nasional (BN) may lead to the cooperation between Umno and Pas and an agreement on hudud.
The post stated: “For them, Umno and Pas has a reason to be allied to strengthen their position.”
“Looking at how Pas is being side lined and ridiculed by PKR (Parti Keadilan Rakyat). It is not impossible for them to leave Pakatan Rakyat and to look at new partner.”
The purported letter dated May 3,signed by MustafaThe purported letter dated May 3,signed by MustafaThe same post also highlighted a letter purportedly signed by Pas' secretary-general Datuk Mustafa Ali urging Pas members not to vote other than Pas candidates.
The letter also stated that the party's Syura Council had urged the party to leave Pakatan as the cooperation is not beneficial to the party.
Blogger Syed Akbar Ali agreed with the theory. In his blog post, he wrote: “The fear is that it will be a DAP and PAS dominated Opposition with PKR having little say. With Anwar a non-entity, PAS will never be able to work with the DAP. This is where UMNO and PAS may come together.
At the end of the day it may come down to Malay - Muslim unity. If the BN does not get enough seats, UMNO and PAS may unite to protect Malay and Muslim interest. This has happened once before when PAS joined the BN. Imagine if PAS and UMNO tie up together in Parliament - it will be a huge solid Malay bloc. Together both UMNO and PAS can easily form a simple majority Government. They will not need DAP, PKR, MCA or Gerakan.”
Syed Akbar’s post is also shared at another blog, Stop The Lies.
Meanwhile a political analyst does not dismiss the possibility of Umno and Pas collaborating after tomorrow's polls depending on how these two parties will fare after the 13th General Election.
Speaking to The Mole Prof Dr Chandra Muzaffar said: “There will be two factors for the cooperation between these parties to happen.”
“Firstly, it will be based on Umno’s performance tomorrow. If their result is worse than the last election, the party may have to look for an alternative option to stay in power.”
It will also be the same for Pas, Dr Chandra said.
“Pas will have to reconsider its position in the coalition if they perform badly. They need to regain the grassroot confidence,” he added.
Dr Chandra however said it is too early to predict on how the cooperation will turn out.
“Umno knows that even if it fails to maintain its power…it is not due to hudud. It may be due to corruption and abuse of power. We will have to see how Pas and Umno can work together on this matter,” he said.
He disagreed with the notion that this election will be the most polarised between the Malays and Chinese community, saying similar situation had occured during the 1969 election.
Dr Chandra predicted that DAP will be the biggest winner among the opposition parties as there will be split votes for PKR and Pas.
He maintained that BN will still emerge as the overall winner.
“I am not sure of the majority but I don’t see a reason why BN will not be able to maintain its power.”
“Its component parties such as MCA and MIC will still win certain seats they are contesting. BN will be the party which is accepted by all races in this country ,” said the President of the International Movement for a Just World (JUST).
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