From Moaz Nair
The ghost of Malay politics past continues to haunt a fading Umno. Ever since its historic, humiliating downfall in the 2018 general election, the party has been trapped in a state of pathetic paralysis, desperately daydreaming about reclaiming its crown as the nation's undisputed political hegemon.
Yet, instead of executing a clear strategy, Umno's leadership is caught in a dilemma of cowardly choices: suck up to Pakatan Harapan in a volatile unity government, or venture into the wilderness alone, or crawl back to its treacherous former rival PAS.
This delusional "two-tier approach" – trying to play both sides by cutting different deals at the state and federal levels – is a weak political gimmick that has failed to fool anyone, least of all PAS.
Meanwhile, Umno’s relationship with PH has rapidly soured under its current leadership. By even flirting with PAS, a party that relentlessly trashes PH as secular and liberal, Umno is actively incinerating whatever fragile trust it has left with its current governing partners.
Let’s call a spade a spade: this is a desperate, toxic battle for survival.
After bloating itself on power for nearly six decades, Umno still blindly demands to be treated as the "Big Brother" of Malay politics. But wake up: PAS now holds the actual cards. Armed with a superior parliamentary seat count and total control over four state governments -- Kelantan, Terengganu, Kedah and Perlis -- PAS has effectively usurped the throne.
Walking into a trap
Analysts see right through Umno’s terror. The party knows that any formal alliance with the Islamic juggernaut will reduce Umno to the position of a weak, castrated junior partner. History has proven time and again that when these two egos clash over who commands Malay politics, a bloody political knife-fight is virtually guaranteed.
Besides, how short is Umno's memory?
The catastrophic collapse of the 2019 Muafakat Nasional pact should have been a permanent lesson. PAS didn't hesitate to stab Umno in the back, secretly conspiring with Bersatu to form Perikatan Nasional in 2020. Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi openly branded that move a betrayal, and the party rank and file still rightly whisper that PAS carries a "DNA of betrayal".
To walk back into that trap is pure political suicide.
Any attempt at a reunion faces brutal realities: PAS will never surrender the safe, Malay-majority seats it currently locks down. It will greedily force Umno to run in highly volatile, hostile areas, guaranteeing an electoral wipeout of Umno's remaining footprint.
PAS’s aggressive youth wing and top leaders are no longer hiding their ambitions: they want a PAS prime minister. They will never yield the top job to a diminished Umno, shattering any illusion of an equal partnership.
Can Umno survive?
Umno’s traditional lifeline has always been its ability to bridge gaps using non-Malay votes. Crawling into bed with an uncompromising Islamist party will permanently alienate those voters, severing Umno's last remaining oxygen supply.
This desperate anxiety is already reeking at the state level. In Perak and Pahang, Umno leaders hold the posts of menteri besar only out of sheer charity by PH, not because Umno commands a real majority. Inviting PAS into these states is code for a hostile takeover. PAS will effortlessly leverage its momentum, hijack the state machinery, and relegate Umno to political irrelevance on its own turf.
PAS knows it doesn't need Umno; its most realistic path to absolute power remains firmly rooted in consolidating its Malay-Islamic framework. This leaves Umno stranded at a historic crossroads of its own making. Going solo in today’s fractured landscape offers zero guarantee of survival, yet leaping back into the arms of PAS ensures complete subordination to a green wave that has already captured the Malay-Muslim electorate.
If Umno wants to survive, it needs to snap out of its historical delusion. It can no longer demand the "Big Brother" crown based on past glory. It must adapt to a brutal new reality or get comfortable being buried in the footnotes of Malaysian history.
Moaz Nair is an FMT reader.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.