Perikatan Nasional: is it retak menanti belah?
Perikatan Nasional cannot be killed from the outside. It must be killed from the inside. Pakatan Harapan people cannot kill Perikatan Nasional. Only Perikatan Nasional people can kill Perikatan Nasional. And they are trying to do this through the Sabah state election.
THE CORRIDORS OF POWER
Raja Petra Kamarudin
The first attempt at forming Muafakat Nasional (which was supposed to be called “Kerajaan Perpaduan” or “Unity Government” and not “Muafakat Nasional”) was in December 2013. And the parties that mooted the idea were Umno and PKR.
But for the Kerajaan Perpaduan to succeed, PAS must be part of it. It cannot be only Umno and PKR.
DAP was not supposed to be a member of this Kerajaan Perpaduan, though, while Parti Amanah did not exist yet in 2013.
Anwar Ibrahim put Saifuddin Nasution in charge of forming the Umno-PKR-PAS Kerajaan Perpaduan
Hence the proposed Kerajaan Perpaduan was going to be a coalition between Umno, PKR and PAS — which means it was not going to be an exclusive Malay-Muslim coalition since PKR has non-Malays/non-Muslims as well.
The first meeting to discuss the formation of the Umno-PKR-PAS Kerajaan Perpaduan was held in London in December 2013 and attended by representatives from Umno, PKR and PAS.
Saifuddin Abdullah (Umno), Saifuddin Nasution (PKR) and Tuan Ibrahim Tuan Man (PAS) were amongst those who attended (plus a number of other leaders). PAS President Abdul Hadi Awang, however, “sent his regrets” and did not attend the meeting, citing “uzur” as the excuse (which could mean anything).
That “message” from Hadi indicated he was not supportive of the Umno-PKR-PAS Kerajaan Perpaduan idea and the whole move fell flat on its face.
Hadi Awang refused to attend the December 2013 London meeting to discuss the formation of the Umno-PKR-PAS Kerajaan Perpaduan
One reason Hadi did not support the Umno-PKR-PAS Kerajaan Perpaduan idea was because it was too tekejut (like a sneak attack). There must be some preparation and groundwork first for such a radical or revolutionary idea such as an Umno-PKR-PAS Kerajaan Perpaduan. The grassroots would need to be informed and some form of consensus sought.
The second (and probably more important) reason was that Anwar Ibrahim was behind the move for the Umno-PKR-PAS Kerajaan Perpaduan proposal and Hadi did not trust Anwar. Hence Hadi did not support the move.
Anwar saw Hadi as the obstacle to an Umno-PKR-PAS Kerajaan Perpaduan. Hence Hadi needed to be removed.
Anwar asked his Anwarinas in PAS to make their move to oust Hadi so that they could control PAS. With Hadi as its President, PAS would never agree to an Umno-PKR-PAS Kerajaan Perpaduan.
Anwar asked his Anwarinas in PAS to oust Hadi and take control of the party, but the coup failed
The coup against Hadi failed and the Anwarinas in PAS were all defeated in the party election soon after that — after which they all left PAS to form a new Islamic party called Parti Amanah Negara.
In essence, Amanah is an anti-Hadi/pro-Anwar party, a move which was aimed at punishing Hadi for two “crimes”. One “crime” was Hadi’s rejection of the Umno-PKR-PAS Kerajaan Perpaduan and the second was for supporting Azmin Ali instead of Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail as the Selangor Menteri Besar.
After GE14 in May 2018 (and the defeat of Umno-Barisan Nasional), the idea for a Kerajaan Perpaduan was revived or resurrected — but this time to be called “Muafakat Nasional” or “National Cooperation”.
However, it would not include PKR, DAP or Amanah, and this time Hadi agreed to the proposal. Later, when Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia left Pakatan Harapan and agreed to an alliance with Muafakat Nasional, Perikatan Nasional came into being.
Azmin Ali and Hamzah Zainudin, the two main players in Bersatu who may determine the future of Perikatan Nasional
But not everyone in Umno and PAS are happy with both Muafakat Nasional and Perikatan Nasional and they would like to see both coalitions killed. And that is why we have seen all sorts of statements issued by leaders from Umno, PAS and Bersatu that give an impression Perikatan Nasional is in a state of “retak menanti belah”.
On 3rd August 2020, A. Kathirasen wrote “Is Perikatan Nasional breaking up?” in which he said, “The Perikatan Nasional (PN) appears doomed – even before it becomes a formal, registered coalition. This will not come as a surprise to many, given the fact that it was hastily stitched together by a group of leaders who saw an opportunity to take power without seeking a mandate from voters.” (READ MORE HERE)
Yes, many political observers and analysts see Perikatan Nasional as being in a state of “retak menanti belah”. And the many “hostile” statements, which leaders from Umno, PAS and Bersatu are making, strengthens this perception.
The Sabah state election is being used as the platform to kill Perikatan Nasional
Pakatan Harapan will never come back to power if an Umno-PAS-Bersatu Perikatan Nasional exists. The only hope for Pakatan Harapan would be if Perikatan Nasional disintegrates. So, every effort is being made to kill Perikatan Nasional in whatever way possible.
And Perikatan Nasional cannot be killed from the outside. It must be killed from the inside. Pakatan Harapan people cannot kill Perikatan Nasional. Only Perikatan Nasional people can kill Perikatan Nasional. And they are trying to do this through the Sabah state election.
