PETALING JAYA: Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi’s claim to the premiership could be strengthened if PAS continues to play a supporting role in a broader partnership with Barisan Nasional that wins power after GE16, an analyst said.
Mazlan Ali of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia said Umno would want to lead the next government and was unlikely to surrender that ambition simply because PAS nominates its own prime ministerial candidate.
“It will ultimately come down to the question of which party is dominant,” he told FMT.
Although PAS is the largest single party in Parliament, Mazlan said its willingness to play a supporting role in electoral arrangements could strengthen Umno’s aspirations to lead Putrajaya.
In Johor, BN won convincingly with tacit support from PAS despite insisting that no electoral pact existed between it and Perikatan Nasional. PAS contested only 11 of the 56 constituencies and had urged its supporters to back BN candidates in seats that PN was not contesting.
In the run-up to the state election, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang offered support for a BN-led state government even if the coalition failed to secure a majority, without seeking the menteri besar's post or state executive council positions.
Cooperation went a step further in Negeri Sembilan, with BN contesting 25 seats and PN the remaining 11 under a seat-sharing arrangement.
Together, they won 25 of the 36 seats contested at the Aug 1 polls, with BN securing 18 seats, including 16 won by Umno, while PN took seven, four by PAS and three by Wawasan.
For the upcoming Melaka polls, BN chairman Zahid has announced that the coalition will defend all 21 state seats it won in 2021, with PAS and its allies contesting the remaining seven.
BN's determination to defend every one of its state constituencies comes despite its failure to win any of Melaka's six parliamentary seats in GE15 in 2022.
Mazlan said PAS would have to back Zahid for prime minister if their alliance secures a parliamentary majority at GE16 and Umno won more seats than PAS under an electoral cooperation arrangement.
PAS backing may not be enough for Hamzah
Mazlan said that besides Terengganu menteri besar Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar, PAS could also consider Hamzah Zainudin as a potential prime ministerial candidate.
However, he said Umno's openness to working with PAS should not be interpreted as a willingness to back the Wawasan president for the top post.
“Umno will never give up the position of prime minister to a splinter party,” he said.
Ahmad Zaharuddin Sani Ahmad Sabri of Global Asia Consulting did not rule out the possibility of Hamzah emerging as a practical choice to break a leadership deadlock.
However, he cautioned that PAS’s willingness to work with Hamzah did not guarantee its support for his premiership.
“Hamzah must show that his ministerial experience has translated into measurable achievements and that PAS’s support is more than a temporary alignment of political interests,” he said.