'With Sarawak Bloc In Play, PAS Seen Losing Clout', The Malay Mail, 24 June 2018

 

24 June 2018

By Syed Jaymal Zahiid And Ruban Anbalagan

KUALA LUMPUR, June 24 — After Umno, PAS will feel most acutely the repercussions of the emergent Sarawak-based political bloc, a political shake-up that effectively made Borneo-based Opposition parties more influential than their peninsula counterparts, analysts told Malay Mail.

PAS is in a much weaker position to bargain for concessions from the Pakatan Harapan (PH) federal government now, they pointed out, since the latter can bypass the Islamist party and look to the Sarawak parties in Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) for support in both Parliament and politically.

Sarawak Chief Minister Datuk Abang Johari Openg’s declaration that GPS will be PH-friendly will likely compound the problem for PAS, one analyst said. PAS has no ties with any of the Sarawak parties that reject its Islamist agenda.

“GPS is going to be PH friendly and is going to collaborate and cooperate with PH,” Jeniri Amir, political analyst with Universiti Malaysia Sarawak, said.

    

“Furthermore, they have 19 seats, thus giving PH more strength,” he added.
PAS won 18 federal seats, retained Kelantan with a stronger mandate and won Terengganu in the 14th general election.
Its top leaders, believing the party had performed well, even as two-thirds of its 130 candidates lost, immediately expressed an intention to form coalition governments in states that either BN or PH won marginally. None materialised.
Critics said while the offers reflected PAS’ ambition to leverage its position, they were quick to note that the party’s overtures were generally ignored.
“PAS is no more influential,” said Oh Ei Sun, a policy adviser based in Singapore.
“PAS’ attempt to play kingmaker more or less ended after the last elections it is now viewed as ‘toxic’,” he added, pointing to the party’s unceremonious departure that triggered the collapse of Pakatan Rakyat, the Opposition coalition that preceded PH.
Polarised nation
GPS — comprising Parti Pesaka Bumiputra Bersatu (PBB), Parti Rakyat Sarawak (PRS), Sarawak United People’s Party (SUPP) and Progressive Democratic Party (PDP) — control 19 federal seats and over two-thirds of the state’s 82-seat assembly.
Sarawak was widely viewed as a “safe deposit” for then ruling Barisan Nasional (BN), owing to the strength of its local component members, which have remained in power since Malaysia was formed in 1963.
But that loyalty appeared to waver in recent years as anger grew over the scandals dogging both state and federal BN leaders, giving rise to an anti-Putrajaya nativist movement demanding greater autonomy from what they viewed as federal hegemony.
Analysts said Sarawak parties know they must distance themselves from BN for survival, and that the formation of a state-based political bloc was meant to capitalise on the pro-autonomy sentiment to remain in power.
But some observers cautioned that a Borneo-based political bloc could give rise to more extreme nativist politics and risk polarising the country.
“It may split if Borneo is sidelined further,” Sivamurugan Pandian, Universiti Sains Malaysia political analyst, said.
“Unless the Malaysian Agreement issue is spelled out in a more rational and practical way, find a win-win methodology to ensure all remain intact as one nation.”