PAS TO JOIN ANWAR'S GOVT & BECOME 2ND, 3RD OR EVEN 4TH-CLASS 'CITIZEN'? - 'MANIPULATIONS' TO TURN MALAYS AGAINST PAS AS NON-MALAY TURNOUT SEEN LOW AT POLL?
Written by Stan Lee, PoliticsNow!
KUALA LUMPUR (politicsnowmy.blogspot.com) - As the pressure mounts on Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim's PKR party to win a much-watched by-election in Penang state, rumors are swirling that Pas, the biggest Malay party in the country, is thinking of joining his unity government.
MANIPULATIVE PROPAGANDA
However, most pundits think this is just political propaganda spread by team Anwar to win the poll - with no less than Anwar's own under-performing Communications minister Fahmi Fadzil accused of fanning the fire.
"Why would Pas want to join Anwar and accept being a second or third class citizens in the unity government," a veteran pundit told PoliticsNow!
"In fact, it can be even worse for Pas because Anwar has to satisfy his own Pakatan Harapan coalition first, then Umno and there is also Sarawak's GPS which is becoming very powerful. I think Pas will have to wait until GE16. What is happening now is perhaps their chief ministers like Terengganu's Samsuri and Kedah's Sanusi are negotiating for more funds and rights from the federal government, just like GPS is doing.
"So for team Anwar to seize on that and spin it as negotiations to join the government is very manipulative. But we have seen this before - with the Dubai Move."
The pundit was referring to an alleged plot by the opposition to seize power, where Fahmi's J-Kom department was accused of spinning a coup conspiracy and then trying to pin the blame back on the opposition. The goal seemed to be to shore up public support and sympathy for Anwar, whose popularity rating has dropped drastically.
However, the 'Dubai Move' not only fizzled out but also backfired on Fahmi, who received a public tongue-lashing including from senior leaders of ally parties including Umno.
The by-election in Sungai Bakap, Penang is due to be balloted on July 6. It will be a straight fight between PKR's Joohari Ariffin and Pas' Abidin Ismail.
PSY-WAR TO TURN MALAYS AGAINST PAS?
Rumors about Pas joining the unity government have frequently popped up, especially ahead of key political events. Both sides of the political divide have at various times, and depending on what situation was at stake, taken advantage of the fact that Pas was once coalition partners with PKR and DAP, the two lynchpin parties in the ruling Pakatan coalition
Although Fahmi had a day ago refused to deny or confirm the rumors about Pas, he nevertheless took pains to let it be known that there were 'a lot of discussions' going on.
“Indeed there are a lot of discussions," Fahmi was reported as telling the media while in Sungai Bakap on Saturday (June 22).
“We can see how discussions between the menteris besar (chief minister) from Pas, for example discussing with Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, discussions among Parliament members with the prime minister."
However, he was vague about whether the 'discussions' were exclusively between the federal government and Pas - or if they involved other chief ministers or leaders from other parties.
The expectation among some analysts is for Pas to retain the seat, which fell vacant following the death of its state assemblyman Nor Zamri. Pas itself is modest about its chances and claims that PKR has the upper-hand - due mainly to the racial composition of the voters there.
“We are unable to attract the 40% of non-Malay voters in the area, and our Malay support has plateaued,” a non-Malay leader in the PN coalition that Pas is part of told Free Malaysia Today earlier this week.
There are some 39,279 voters in Sungai Bakap but voter turnout is expected to be very low especially among the non-Malays due to election fatigue. The poll will be the country's 8th by-election since team Anwar swept to power in late 2022.
Malay voters, many of whom tend to dislike Anwar for what they perceive to be his 'unpredictable' politics, have swung sharply behind Pas and its PN ally Bersatu since the 2022 general election.
As such, they may feel betrayed if Pas did indeed opt to join Anwar's unity government, said an analyst. Not surprisingly Pas has rushed to nip in the bud Fahmi's comments.
“Today there was a piece of viral news that Pas is negotiating to join the unity government. I want to make an affirmative statement, PAS will not join the Harapan-BN government," Tuan Ibrahim, the party's deputy president, said in a media statement.
EVEN WILDER & MORE ILLOGICAL
Fahmi had also described as "wild" and "illogical" the accusations from Pas that Anwar's PKR had been using government machinery as well as resources to beef up its campaign and outreach to voters.
But analysts say it may be even wilder and more illogical for Pas to join the unity government than for the Anwar regime to pour in the 'goodies' to win at Sungai Bakap.
They point to the controversial RM18 million in aid and allocations announced suddenly by Housing minister Nga Kor Ming for various projects in Sungai Bakap.
“The Anwar government seems immune as it has violated one election rule after another since the Kuala Terengganu by-election, the Kemaman and Kuala Kubu Baharu polls, and now in Sungai Bakap," said Dominic Lau, president of PN component Gerakan, in a statement to the media.
“All this just to stay in power and position. With such a mentality, the exploitation of money politics based on party interests has become a norm for the Anwar administration. This causes a great inequality between the government and the opposition in the election arena."
The late Zamri had defeated PKR's Nurhidayah Che Rose with a majority of 1,563 votes.
Written by Stan Lee, PoliticsNow!
https://politicsnowmy.blogspot.com/
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