GE14 litmus test for Pas

KUALA LUMPUR: The 14th General Election will serve as Pas’s first litmus test following its “political divorce” with PKR and, in effect, with Pakatan parties.

Political pundits have predicted that the Islamic party may be headed towards uncertainty as it has no other established political party in its camp.

Pas will lead the Gagasan Sejahtera pact, which comprises the Islamic party and Parti Ikatan Bangsa Malaysia (Ikatan). It is also looking at forming a political understanding with two other parties for GE14 — Parti Cinta Malaysia (PCM) and Barisan Jemaah Islamiah Se-Malaysia (Berjasa).

Pas central working committee member Datuk Khairuddin Aman Razali At-Takiri said despite the challenges, the party was confident that it could take over Selangor, Terengganu, Kedah and Perlis, aside from retaining Kelantan.

Speaking to the New Sunday Times, Khairuddin dismissed claims by analysts that Pas had a lot to lose should it stay on its own, saying that the party had strong support from its allies and grassroots.

“Our grassroots are different from other parties because they channel information to us directly which gives us an advantage. This research has been done since the end of the last general election, so we know which seats we can win and which seats we can’t.

“And, who says we’re alone? We have Gagasan Sejahtera and we don’t really need the others. We will stay with Gagasan and more non-governmental organisations will be joining us together with PCM and Berjasa.”

The Kuala Nerus member of parliament said Pas was more than ready to lead a coalition, claiming that this would not be its first.

He said when Pas formed a pact with then Parti Negara in 1955, it was the Islamic party that led the coalition, and in the 1990s, the party also worked with the nowdefunct Semangat 46 in Angkatan Perpaduan Ummah.

On Thursday, Pas officially ended its 18 years of cooperation with PKR. Analysts have said this could lead to more multicornered fights in GE14.

This, they said, could be advantageous to Barisan Nasional, with some predicting that Pas could end up as the biggest loser.