Malaysia: New Muslim-Malay political alliance

Former long-term ruling UMNO and Islamic radical PAS party have forged a political alliance. A charter of formal cooperation was signed during Ummah Unity Gathering in Kuala Lumpur, as reported by Reuters on 14 September 2019. Thomas Muller, persecution analyst at World Watch Research, explains: "The alliance"s goal is to defend the special status which Muslim Malay citizens in Malaysia enjoy and to protect them from any perceived threats coming from ethnic minorities. One perceived threat is so-called Christianization (UCA News, 19 September 2019). The long-term goal is to take over the federal government in the next elections which are scheduled for 2023. However, by-elections and state elections will show much earlier how close the alliance of these two parties really is. While UMNO comes from a more secular background and follows an ethnic-nationalist ideology, PAS is openly Islamist and sees defending Islam as its raison d'ƒªtre. Although it is far from certain that this alliance will survive over a long period, it is clear that having a common enemy helps bridge differences. In any case, this new pact has the potential to deepen the already strongly felt polarization in Malaysia, although it comes with risks for the acting parties as well. As The Diplomat pointed out on 18 September 2019: "˜The UMNO especially could lose a certain amount of votes from non-Malays, which they previously enjoyed the support of through a long-running coalition with other ethnic-based parties.""