PAS Muktamar sounds the death knell for Pakatan ties

ALOR STAR: PAS is on the brink of officially severing ties with Pakatan Rakyat (PR) as it awaits endorsement from its Syura Council.
When delegates of the 63rd PAS muktamar voted to break "tahaluf siyasi" (political cooperation) with PKR, the death knell for its ties with PR was sounded.
As it is, there is love lost between PAS and DAP after PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang's push on a Private Member's Bill to increase the powers of the syariah courts.
If the Council gives the green light to officially cut ties, the question then is what lies ahead for PAS, especially with the Selangor state government, where the party has 13 seats in the 56-seat legislature.
It would be tricky for PAS to remain in the Selangor administration.
If PAS were to team up with Barisan Nasional (BN) in Selangor, with 12 seats, and two independents, this coalition would have 27 seats, two short of a simple majority.
As of now, the ruling state coalition holds 29 seats, with DAP having 14, PKR holding 13 and Amanah occupying two seats.
If the break is approved by the Syura Council, Selangor Mentri Besar Azmin Ali would be put in an unenviable position as four of his Exco members are from PAS. His decision, as well as any option chosen by PKR, would be closely watched.
The debates by PAS delegates and leaders at the muktama also gave few clues on whether the party would work with Umno in the coming elections.
Those taking part in the debate mostly stuck to the theme of "Sejahtera Bersama Islam" (Flourish With Islam) of the key speech by Hadi Awang.
Those who spoke mainly touched upon issues affecting their states or wings as well as bread and butter issues with one even urging for better national food security by enhancing agricultural programmes.
Several touched upon Umno and those that did moved on quickly to other points of their debate while any attacks were directed against DAP and Amanah, a splinter party from PAS.
It was no surprise that the most stringent criticisms were directed at DAP and the Penang government where DAP secretary general Lim Guan Eng is the chief minister.
Also conspicuous was the absence of any motions for the party to work with Umno in the coming elections.
This, nonetheless, may not preclude the possibility of a "gentleman's agreement" between the Malay nationalistic party and the Islamist one to reduce the chance of splitting votes.
PAS is aiming to expand its voting base by securing votes from Felda settlers and land owners under the Felcra scheme ,which are seen as "fixed deposit" votes for Umno.
Seats in these areas are seen as safe for Umno and BN as settlers and landowners have benefited from the initiatives implemented by the federal government in the 1960s to alleviate poverty in rural areas.
What was obvious was debaters and the leadership continuously stressing the point on national governance to be based on Islam.
All other forms of governance were given short shift and shot down, particularly liberalism and secularism, in line with Abdul Hadi telling delegates that PAS aimed to save humanity through Islam.
Clearly then PAS has doubled down on burnishing its Islamic credentials to attract voters tired of the current system.
Whether voters would buy that message, or fence sitters be convinced, would only be known when the votes are tallied in the coming elections.