KUALA LUMPUR: Pas' bid to revive Muafakat Nasional, the loose coalition it formed with Umno, as well as its openness to working with Amanah, is the Islamic party's best bet at taking over Putrajaya, says a political analyst.
"With Bersatu's fortunes flagging, there's no harm in Pas trying its luck with Umno and Amanah to unite all the Malay parties before the next general election (GE16)," said Universiti Sains Malaysia's Professor Dr Ahmad Fauzi Abdul Hamid.
"Realistically speaking, Pas' only hope of being in government is only a political coalition," he told the New Straits Times.
He said that Perikatan Nasional (PN) had little chance of securing non-Malay votes and this was why Pas' best option was to unite the Malay parties.
Pas has gained significant ground in the parliamentary and state seats in Peninsula Malaysia in recent polls, but together with Bersatu, has struggled to win votes from non-Malays.
Fauzi was commenting on Pas vice-president Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Samsuri Mokhtar's remarks that he was not against the revival of MN and collaborating with its splinter party, Amanah.
He also said that Samsuri's olive branch to Umno and Amanah in the name of uniting Malay parties would put pressure on them to respond in a friendly manner.
Nusantara Academy for Strategic Research senior fellow Dr Azmi Hassan said Samsuri's remarks were "strategic" because Umno and Amanah were weak and DAP's perceived dominance in the unity government.
However, Azmi said Umno and Amanah were unlikely to accept any proposals from PAS.
"Umno will not accept the alliance since they were betrayed during the Muafakat Nasional 1.0, while Amanah is a splinter of Pas."
Professor James Chin from the University of Tasmania's Asia Institute said Pas main goal is to unite all Malay parties to ensure Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim loses power and weaken DAP.
"Anwar refuses to distance himself from DAP, which is why they seek unity to counter DAP's influence.
"However, as long as Umno is led by Datuk Seri Dr Zahid Hamidi, they (Umno) may not agree (to work with Pas).
"Amanah is unlikely to move, as they remain committed to Pakatan Harapan especially with Anwar as its leader," he said.