Get ready for an Umno-PAS-GPS-GRS government

Pakatan Harapan is certain to be wiped out in the next general election.

Many are saying that the 16th general election will be held at the end of 2026, after Budget 2027 has been tabled. The logic is that with no more freebies for civil servants and the B40s, delaying it will be risky.

As it is, the unity government no longer has a commanding lead on the perception index. But rather than a lack of effort this decline stems from poor communication.

Pakatan Harapan (PH) — especially core components PKR and Amanah — will certainly be wiped out and, along with it, Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim.

For those who are still wondering, it is easy to come to such a conclusion.

For a start, a former minister who goes by the moniker “Yang Berhenti Menteri” continues to undermine his own party, PKR, to sooth his wounded pride.

While Umno would have shown such members the door, PKR in its mistaken act of altruism allows this gentleman to continue acting like the bull in the china shop.

Secondly Malaysians, mostly non-Malays, continue to play the victim. They refuse to accept that change takes time, and requires strategic alliances, even with the enemy.

Instead, they tune in to bloggers calling out government ministers for various mistakes as if they can do better.

Malaysians remain focused on the impossible — ensuring meritocracy, quota in university enrolment, UiTM’s racial make-up, and the search for Teoh Beng Hock’s killers.

At the same time, they dismiss Anwar’s tireless effort to fight corruption and to help the poor as foolish, thereby reinforcing the view among voters that we now have a failed government.

So, if PH loses, will PAS get a majority in the Dewan Rakyat? Of course. Malays are religious by nature, and the richer they get the more they want to go for umrah. For them, it is an express train to heaven.

But while the Quran says that one should help the needy, orphans and the poor, the Malays believe this a political expectation best suited for a Malay-dominated government rather than a heavenly duty.

PAS would be best suited for this. With the Islamic party in power, corruption will be wiped out, and all Malays will go to heaven.

Just remove all the temptations, such as alcohol, sex and concerts, and Malaysia will become the paradise on earth. That is PAS’s selling point, and it seems like it works.

In this scenario, where does Umno stand? Will it be as strong as PAS, even gain a majority in Parliament? Yes, if it does a deal with PAS to wipe out Bersatu.

With DAP, Amanah and PKR no longer in the picture given that their supporters are more likely to boycott the polls, the Umno-PAS alliance will emerge victorious.

Evidence of PAS’s willingness to abandon Bersatu is there for all to see. It’s no secret that the party does not want Muhyiddin Yassin, nor does it need Dr Mahathir Mohamad.

The PAS-Umno love affair goes back all the way to 2019 when they hooked up to form Muafakat Nasional. For the Islamic party, its nationalist counterpart is a more viable route to Putrajaya.

With the Sarawak for Sarawakians and Sabah for Sabahans sentiments at an all-time high, Perikatan Nasional (PN), Barisan Nasional (BN) and PH are unlikely to win any seat across the South China Sea.

So, any coalition in the peninsula prepared to accede to their demands for their “rightful” share of oil and gas money will have the best chance of winning over Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) and Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) to form a grand coalition.

In that scenario, who will be prime minister? This is easy. It has to be an Umno man. Neither  GPS nor GRS, nor many Malaysians in the peninsula, will accept a PAS leader as prime minister, just like most Malays will object to a DAP man holding the country’s top elective post.

But who among the Umno leaders? I believe vice-president Johari Ghani or even Khairy Jamaluddin, who is yet to be accepted back to the party after his sacking in 2023, are more acceptable to Malaysians than current president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi.

But Khairy will have to beg Zahid to accept him back in Umno first.

Also waiting in the wings are another vice-president Khaled Nordin and supreme council member Zambry Abdul Kadir. Lastly there is youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh, likely the youngest prime minister-to-be.

So, Malaysians may finally get what they have been asking for — BN back at the wheel, a rehashing of the last 60 years of politics.

That takes us back to square one.

Short of a divine intervention, an Umno-PAS-GPS-GRS government is becoming a reality, and Muafakat Nasional will finally get the most important role in government.

Happy New Year my fellow Malaysians.

The views expressed are those of the writer and do not necessarily reflect those of FMT.