KUALA LUMPUR, July 24 — Pakatan Harapan election director Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari today told Barisan Nasional to be wary of being “swallowed” by Perikatan Nasional in pursuit of Malay-Muslim “ummah unity”, arguing that previous attempts to bring PAS and Umno together have repeatedly ended in failure.
He said signs that PN was seeking to dominate BN were already emerging, pointing to Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin’s proposal to call their cooperation “Perikatan Barisan Nasional”, a name that several Umno leaders have since distanced themselves from.
“In contrast, Pakatan Harapan has proven that a Unity coalition built on trust is a coalition guided by values, morals and a determination to uplift the dignity of the people so that Malaysia’s economy can succeed,” Amirudin said in a statement today.
Amirudin was responding to renewed calls by PAS president Tan Sri Abdul Hadi Awang for cooperation with Umno in the name of Malay-Muslim unity, saying the two parties had a long history of falling out despite repeated attempts at reconciliation.
He cited PAS joining Barisan Nasional in 1972, overtures following BN’s loss of its two-thirds parliamentary majority in 2008, and developments after BN lost federal power for the first time in 2018 as previous episodes of attempted cooperation.
“All three attempts failed miserably and will fail once again,” he said, accusing those pushing the latest alliance of lacking principles and being driven by the pursuit of political power.
Amirudin also questioned PAS’s argument that “ummah unity” would translate into better governance and economic outcomes, pointing to states where PN and PAS enjoy overwhelming political dominance.
“If ‘ummah unity’ can truly solve all the people’s problems and advance the economy, the people of Terengganu, Kelantan, Kedah and Perlis should already be living far more comfortably and earning higher incomes than residents of Tokyo, Dubai and Doha,” he said.
He also said Johor, which has 10 deputy state executive councillors, “should already have become the Shenzhen of Southeast Asia”, before arguing that people from the states he cited instead continue to seek jobs and better living opportunities in places such as Selangor, Negeri Sembilan and Penang.
Amirudin contrasted PAS’s “ummah unity” pitch with what he described as PH’s approach of building a broader “unity of the people” based on trust, values and improving livelihoods, pointing to its record in Selangor, Penang and Negeri Sembilan as well as at the federal level.
His remarks came as Abdul Hadi today expressed hope that the PAS-Umno cooperation in the Negeri Sembilan election would last despite the parties’ chequered relationship, saying the latest arrangement was intended to “save the country” and was not merely for show.
BN and the PAS-led PN have struck an electoral understanding for the August 1 state election, with BN contesting 25 seats and PN 11, while both sides have agreed to campaign for and encourage their supporters to back each other’s candidates.
However, BN chairman Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said yesterday that there had been no formal discussions on forming a “Perikatan Barisan Nasional” alliance, while stressing that BN remained committed to the federal unity government until the end of the current parliamentary term.