Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) Vice-President Mujahid Yusof Rawa said while it was too early to judge PAS’ new partnership, he believed that PH, by having three influential Opposition parties, would maintain its position as the strongest coalition.

“I don’t think there will be a bigger and more prominent coalition than PH.

“Even if the next general election sees three-cornered battles, I hope in the end the public will choose only between two coalitions, the ruling BN or the stronger Opposition,” the Parit Buntar MP told FMT.

PAS Secretary-General Takiyuddin Hassan yesterday announced the Islamist party’s plan to form a new Opposition alliance with an unnamed multiracial party which besides BN, would also compete against PH.

PKR’s Kapar MP G Manivannan said while it was within PAS’ prerogative to work with another political party, he doubted the move would pose any threat to PH’s influence on the public.

He also suggested the possibility of both PAS and PH blocs working together in the future.

“PH is strong. We are moving forward and I’m quite confident of our capability. The public has great expectations of PH, so our only concern is to focus on our fight against BN.

“In the meantime, if anyone plans to come up with a new pact, they can. But I don’t think they’ll be a hindrance to our goals.

DAP’s Ramkarpal Singh, on the other hand, said PAS’ move would only benefit BN. This, he explained, would be due to votes cast in the next general election being split three ways.

“It’s very crucial that all Opposition parties unite to defeat BN. That would be the ideal situation, but of course, I don’t know if it would be possible due to differences which had, in the past, resulted in the complete breakdown of Pakatan Rakyat (PR).”

PAS was formerly a part of PR, along with DAP and PKR. The coalition, however, fell apart due to disagreements over PAS’ plan to implement hudud in Kelantan.