From Terence Netto
It comes as no surprise that PAS has signalled it wants the top post in Perikatan Nasional.
Its 43 parliamentary seats, compared to Bersatu’s 25, make its candidate for the prime ministership of the country a certainty for the post should PN win GE16, due in early 2028.
Of course, the opposition coalition will have to win more parliamentary seats than it did in GE15 to make the government.
And PAS would have to increase its present tally of 43 seats to solidify its claim to the PM’s post.
PAS‘s PN partner, Bersatu, at its AGM last week, made no bones about who it wants as its PM designate.
It is Muhyiddin Yassin, the country’s PM from March 2020 to August 2021, during which time he steered a ruling coalition cobbled from the ruins of a defection-ravaged Pakatan Harapan government.
PAS, keen to see PH self-destruct, went along with the Muhyiddin, and later Ismail Sabri (August 2021 to October 2022) interregnums before GE15 had to be called in November 2022.
GE15 saw PH supremo Anwar Ibrahim edge into the PM’s seat after succeeding in assembling a coalition which saw longtime adversaries DAP and Umno agreeing to co-habit in a government led by the erstwhile Pied Piper of reformasi.
The chief characteristic of the governments of the last seven years, between Najib Razak‘s administration ejected in GE14 in May 2018 and Anwar‘s assumption of the PM’s office in late November 2022, is their apparent transient quality.
Sure, Anwar’s Madani government has been in power for close on three years, longer than the combined spans of Muhyiddin‘s and Ismail Sabri’s.
The span can’t be regarded as transitory; it’s more like longevity.
But its continued existence is attributable to decisions by the Attorney-General’s Chambers and by the judiciary that are will-o’-the-wisp.
For that reason, it is better for PAS to wait for the PM-ship to drop into its hands rather than chafe at the bit.
Terence Netto is a senior journalist and an FMT reader.
The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.
