KOTA KINABALU – When the path to forging a formidable Malay political front chanced upon him, Umno president Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi stayed adamantly and unflinchingly still.
He took a different approach than his late predecessor, Tun Abdul Razak Hussein had taken in 1974.
To the unfamiliar, Abdul Razak had managed to unite the Malays – albeit briefly – when he invited Umno’s arch-rival, PAS, to join the newly rebranded Barisan Nasional (BN) pact; previously known as Perikatan.
“The political situation was different back then,” said Zahid in an interview with The Vibes, when asked about Umno’s decision to not follow PAS’ footsteps into joining the Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition.
Abdul Razak’s aim, back then, said Zahid, was to unite all Malaysians due to increasingly strained racial relations following the May 13, 1969 riot that erupted in Kuala Lumpur after the national polls earlier that month.
“PN was formed to replace PH (Pakatan Harapan – the coalition that governed the country for less than two years, from May 2018 to February 2020). We (Umno) already have BN. So, there is no need for us to join PN,” added Zahid.
The PN-led government was formed following the collapse of the PH administration on February 24 after then-Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad resigned and left the party he chaired, Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) – itself an Umno-splinter party founded on September 8, 2016.
On March 1, Bersatu president Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin was appointed PM and formed a government via the support of elected representatives from PAS and BN’s component parties; Umno, MCA and MIC.
“Umno has decided that we will only support PN at the parliamentary and state legislative level. The party and other component parties in BN will not join PN,” Zahid stressed, reiterating a point he had made on July 30.
For now, PN is made up of Bersatu, STAR, SAPP and PAS.
The joining of PAS is unique in the sense that the Islamist party is also part of the Muafakat Nasional (MN) front with Umno – which was a pact that Umno rode on when it won big time in four of the by-elections last year.
“I think if we have two feet then, it is better to have them in one place so that we won’t fall flat on our face if we’re pulled from one side to another,” Zahid added. – The Vibes, September 20, 2020
