Flame on, flame off: Can PAS and Umno keep the fire burning until GE15?
COMMENTARY, September 14 — After much teasing, PAS and Umno have finally carved a path forward to the next general election in an agreement — signed and sealed — based on a common agreeable platform.
Themed or titled Muafakat Nasional, literally means Nasional Consensus, both parties pledge to take on the responsibilities of governing a multi-racial and multi-religious Malaysia with Islam and Islamic principles as its foundation.
The unity of supporters and members of both the two largest Malay-Islam based parties, came about as the Malays generally feel their privileges and rights are being sidelined and chipped under the new Pakatan Harapan (PH) government which they perceive as being dominated by DAP.
The ruling PH government has yet to deliver their promises made in the manifesto which gave them the May 2018 general election victory, and this has caused some uneasiness among voters and a general erosion of faith and trust.
Cost of living has yet to go down, repaying educational loans (PTPTN) is still a burden to some and many more unfulfilled promises are fertile ground for the fast growing dissatisfactions and frustrations.
Umno has been struggling hard to keep its support base after last year’s defeat but now the party leaders can breathe a little easier as PH’s failure to deliver kept its members and supporters from exiting the party en masse.
Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) which chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who is also the prime minister was at one time an attractive option for Umno members to run to but the flavour is now lost as they (Umno members and supporters) see the party not focusing enough on Malay and Islamic issues.
Filling the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) to the brim, members and supporters of both parties mingled like old friends, forgetting the past rivalry which are now being recalled by parties in the ruling government to try and keep them apart.
Spirits are high and hopes are higher as shown in PWTC since yesterday and today where speeches of leaders of both parties kept the “flame burning”, pumping into the minds and hearts of supporters and members the historical event is the key to toppling the PH government.
With the next general election some three-and-a-half-years more to go, the big question is can the leaders keep the flame burning until such time taking into consideration that parties in PH will try to tear them apart because if PH parties do not do that, then they have themselves to blame if their tenure is only one term.
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