Malaysia’s Umno confirms ‘cooperation’ with Islamist party PAS after weeks of denials

The party of Najib Razak, Malaysia’s embattled former prime minister, on Tuesday confirmed its “cooperation” with PAS, the nation’s Islamist party, taking a firm conservative tilt in a bid to rebrand itself and woo back voters. The announcement contradicts weeks of denials that such an alliance would be formed. Mohamad Hasan, currently serving as acting president of the United Malays National Organisation (Umno), told local media the two parties were “married” and would work together. The announcement came just days after Umno won a by-election in Semenyih, a state constituency just outside Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia’s capital city. Explained: Malaysia’s 1MDB scandal In last year’s general elections, the Barisan Nasional coalition, led by Umno, was defeated by Pakatan Harapan and forced from power for the first time in more than 60 years. Semenyih is the first constituency Umno has managed to wrest from the government since that landmark election result. The Semenyih result owed partly to Pakatan Harapan being slow to fulfil economic promises but also to coordination between Umno and PAS to avoid splitting their supporters in a way that would have strengthened Pakatan Harapan. Both PAS and Umno rely heavily on Muslim and Malay votes: PAS has positioned itself as the defender of Islam in the Muslim-majority country, while Umno champions Malay nationalism. These support bases account for nearly 70 per cent of the Malaysian population. “Umno and PAS have agreed that this is a cooperation, respecting each other, and finding the meeting points between the two parties for the sake of the unity of Muslims,” Mohamad Hasan, Umno’s acting president, told The Star newspaper. “Our agenda is not to create a Malay pact versus the non-Malays. We want to unite the Muslims and bumiputra [Malays and indigenous people] without sidelining any other race and religion.” This “cooperation” occurred despite weeks of denials from both parties: PAS told Umno in December it was “impossible” to merge as their ideologies were too different. However, the two parties have worked together in by-elections and in protesting the government’s proposed ratification of a UN anti-discrimination treaty last year. Umno and PAS have agreed that this is a cooperation ... Our agenda is not to create a Malay pact versus the non-Malays Mohamad Hasan, Umno’s acting president Malaysia’s opposition forces had until recently appeared unfocused and divided. However, in the past week, various component parties of the defeated Barisan Nasional coalition have sought to rebrand and consolidate their support. Besides the Umno-PAS cooperation, the Malaysian Chinese Association and the Malaysian Indian Congress – which represent the nation’s two other main ethnic groups – have begun to discuss the possibility of a new alliance. This consolidation of Malaysia’s opposition may present an emerging threat to the multiracial Pakatan Harapan, which claims it inherited a shaky economy and depleted coffers from the previous administration, led by Najib, who was also president of Umno. Najib at times found common cause with PAS, which split from Pakatan Harapan in 2015, although its progressive leaders remained with the coalition, then in opposition. For example, Najib worked with PAS to introduce Islamic legal punishments known as hudud. Although PAS was founded by breakaway Umno members in the 1950s, it was a federal opposition party for most of its existence except for a brief period in the 1970s when it joined the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition. It also, in the 1990s, teamed up with short-lived political party Semangat 46, which was also founded by former Umno members. Awang Azman Awang Pawi, a political analyst from University Malaya’s Institute of Malay Studies, said the strategic cooperation between Umno and PAS had been a “great success” in the recent Semenyih by-election, as well as a previous by-election in Cameron Highlands, where PAS did not field a candidate, helping Umno retain the seat. Where’s Malaysia headed with its race-based preferential policies? “The Umno-PAS collaboration will only really affect the Malay majority. For mixed and multiracial constituencies, Pakatan Harapan will not be impacted,” Awang said. However, to be truly viable as an opposition force, Umno-PAS must reassure other ethnic and religious groups their rights will not be threatened, he said, emphasising the alliance was “not a coalition in terms of structural parties”. Can a ‘New Malaysia’ emerge while those in power play an old game? Rather than agree a formal coalition, the two parties will form a main committee and an opposition caucus in parliament. Senior members of both parties will sit on the committee. Meanwhile, Anwar Ibrahim, the country’s prime minister-in-waiting, told local media not all Malays supported Umno or PAS. Both Anwar and current premier Mahathir Mohamad are former members of Umno, serving as prime minister and deputy prime minister together in the 1990s. Anwar was the founding leader of an Islamic youth organisation in the 1970s but shocked his liberal supporters by joining Umno 10 years later, confounding expectations he would join PAS . Anwar insisted Pakatan Harapan’s multiracial approach was “smart” as it aimed to tackle the problems of all poor or disenfranchised Malaysians, regardless of ethnicity.