[1] The latest kerfuffle between PAS and Gerakan and the squabbling between PAS and Bersatu over who should lead are yet further reminders that Perikatan Nasional remains divided and dysfunctional. Beyond their mutual ambition for power, they have nothing in common – no common political agenda, no shared values, and no real trust amongst themselves. Indeed, their leaders can barely tolerate each other. 

[2] Common sense ought to tell the PN leadership that if they are to have any chance of being elected to government, they need a political and economic agenda that would win the support of a plurality of ethnicities. But PAS – the lynchpin of PN – is simply not prepared to commit to that kind of an agenda. The party’s obdurate pursuit of an extremist and exclusive theocratic agenda immediately creates insurmountable barriers to inter-ethnic political cooperation.

[3] Instead of facing up to the reality that their agenda is not going to win them the non-Malay votes that they crave; PAS and their assorted bedfellows resort to subterfuge, duplicity and deceit. They make gratuitous statements about respect for diversity; they talk about inclusiveness and promise justice and equality for all but it’s all baloney. Non-Malays long ago concluded that PAS represents everything they don’t want to see in Malaysia.  Toning down the rhetoric – as some have advised PAS to do – will not help; what is needed is a substantive policy change that reflects a willingness to accommodate the nation’s diversity. Until they do, they will have better luck trying to catch the wind. 

[4] Non-Malay parties like Gerakan and others had better wake up to this stark reality. If they continue flirting with PAS/PN, what little support they have will quickly evaporate. They are better off fighting the good fight for the rights of all Malaysians on their own than trying to find common cause with a party that is so openly hostile to non-Malays and non-Muslims. Cooperating with PAS will be the kiss of death for these small struggling parties.

[5] The PAS-led opposition’s failure to evolve into a genuine broad-based alternative to the current government is bad news for the country. It means that we are stuck with a government that is still floundering after more than two years in office. Reform has stalled. Our democratic space is shrinking. Serious national unity issues remain unresolved. The war on corruption has become a farce with more NFAs and DNAAs than convictions. The government’s much-touted subsidy programs are a mess. Life is becoming harder for many; handouts have become necessary for survival. What does it say of the level of desperation that some 850,000 people cashed in their RM100 SARA assistance on the very first day itself?

[6] With so many things going wrong at the same time, it ought to be gold mine for the opposition in terms of issues to challenge the government and prove their mettle. That the opposition has not been able to capitalize on the government’s dismal performance speaks volumes about their own dysfunction and ineptitude. 

[7] People are growing increasingly fed up with the government’s inability to respond to the challenges they face. If there was a viable alternative, voters might well drop their support for the unity government without a second thought; but now all they can do is shrug fatalistically and mumble the words that so aptly sums up our despair – “if not Anwar who? 

[Dennis Ignatius |Kuala Lumpur |24^th September 2025]