Bersatu-PAS alliance will strengthen Perikatan, but a GE15 victory? Not so fast!

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Bersatu-PAS alliance will strengthen Perikatan, but a GE15 victory? Not so fast, say analysts

KUALA LUMPUR, April 12 — The alliance between Islamist party PAS and Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) may serve to strengthen the flagging Perikatan Nasional (PN) coalition, but the dynamism of its unity will only be seen in the 15th general election, analysts said.

Those polled by Malay Mail opined that the situation remains too fluid for them to predict whether the cooperation between the two parties could scupper Umno-Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) chances at the polls.

Shazwan Mustafa Kamal, a senior associate with political risk and public policy consultancy Vriens & Partners, believes that Bersatu and PAS alone may not have enough star appeal to win the next national polls, and would need more allies down the road.

“Bersatu and PAS’ commitment to each other will help strengthen PN, given Umno’s recent decision to formally quit working with Bersatu in GE15. For one, the seat negotiations between Bersatu and PAS would likely be less complicated than with Umno.

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