SHAH ALAM - Several Umno leaders suggest that Pas reconsider the invitation from Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim to join the unity government to strengthen the voice of Malay Members of Parliament (MPs) within the ruling bloc.
Umno Supreme Council member Datuk Seri Mohd Sharkar Shamsudin said Pas should be realistic and aware that the proposal to revive Muafakat Nasional (MN) with Umno was no longer relevant.
He pointed out that MN's official status which was registered as a non-governmental organisation (NGO) under the Registrar of Societies (RoS) by former Ketereh MP Tan Sri Annuar Musa was already obsolete.
He said that the proposal to revive MN was also considered impossible because Pas practically lacked the ability to form a new government in the near future, even if all 30 Barisan Nasional (BN) MPs agreed to leave the government en bloc.
"Through participation in the unity government, Pas will ensure that the number of Malay Muslim representatives within the ruling bloc returns to the majority, thereby diminishing the influence of certain parties attempting to pursue agendas incongruent with the spirit of the Madani Government.
"Logically, even if the spirit of MN is successfully revived, Pas and the Perikatan Nasional (PN) are still unable to overthrow the existing government because Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) has lost the support of 10 of its MPs," he told Sinar.
The Speaker of the Pahang State Legislative Assembly said this in response to a statement by Pas spiritual leader Datuk Hashim Jasin, predicting that the Umno-Pas relationship through MN would rekindle before the 16th General Election (GE16).
Hashim's views were expressed amidst controversy over a proposal by Housing and Local Government Minister Nga Kor Ming to nominate new Chinese villages in Selangor as Unesco World Heritage Sites
The statement by the senior DAP leader sparked anger among some Umno leaders, but the Teluk Intan MP later clarified that the proposal would not be pursued.
Taking the recent statement by Nga, who refused to prolong the issue of the new Chinese villages, as an example, Sharkar said such controversies led Umno-BN to choose to remain within the ruling bloc.
He said by being part of the unity government, Umno could better advocate for the interests of Malay Muslims.
"When being part of the unity government, at least six Umno Deputy Ministers in the Cabinet can speak up to defend the interests of Malay Muslims and rebuke any parties attempting to act excessively.
"Umno has learned from the experience of losing in the 14th General Election (GE14) where, as the opposition, it was difficult to defend the sovereignty of Islam, the Malay race and the royal institution because we had no voice in the government," he said.
AGENDA
Meanwhile, former Selangor menteri besar Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo said Pas cannot continue to daydream and hope that the agenda of changing the government through MN sentiment will be realised before GE16.
"If Pas believes that attracting Umno-BN members can enable PN to form a new government, then Pas is mistaken because 10 Bersatu MPs have shifted their support to the unity government.
"I believe that almost half of the Umno MPs are expected to remain supportive of the unity government even if BN agrees to switch support en bloc.
"So, Pas should not continue to be bound by MN nostalgia during the collapse of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government in 2020," he said.
Dr Khir also emphasised that if Pas had the courage to respond to Anwar's invitation to join the unity government for the empowerment of the Malays, the majority of Malay MPs dominating Parliament would be 93.
According to the latest demographic statistics released by the Department of Statistics Malaysia in July, last year, the number of Malay MPs within the ruling bloc was 50, followed by Chinese (43), Sabah Sarawak Bumiputera (27), non-Sabah Sarawak Bumiputera (16) and Indians and other ethnicities (12).
"That number will be stronger if Bersatu (27 MPs) also joins the existing government.
"Imagine if 120 Malay MPs unite to defend the interests of Malay Muslims in Parliament; would DAP still dare to provoke the privileges of Malays?," he said.