Malaysia's PAS Party Cuts Ties with Bersatu, Fracturing Opposition Coalition
Malaysia's largest Islamist party, PAS, announced on Monday it was terminating political cooperation with coalition partner Bersatu, fracturing the Perikatan Nasional opposition bloc ahead of imminent state elections and a general election due by early 2028. The split follows months of deepening tensions, including a December 2025 incident in Perlis and the subsequent resignation of Muhyiddin Yassin as PN chairman. The rupture could fundamentally redraw Malaysia's opposition landscape, with PAS now seeking new alliances and Bersatu facing an uncertain political future.
PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang announced late Monday that the party's central working committee had voted to end political cooperation with Bersatu, endorsing an earlier ruling by its Syura Council, the party's highest religious body. The decision stops short of formally withdrawing PAS from the Perikatan Nasional coalition, but analysts say PN is effectively finished in its current form. The split is widely seen as timed to coincide with a 'Reset' convention on Saturday in Kelantan, where former Bersatu deputy president Hamzah Zainuddin is expected to launch a new political movement — a faction analysts believe PAS has greater affinity with than Muhyiddin's Bersatu. PAS, which holds 43 of parliament's 222 seats and was the driving force behind PN's strong 2022 general election performance, is now exploring a broader Malay-Muslim electoral pact, with a longer-term possibility of reviving cooperation with UMNO, though UMNO president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has said the defunct Muafakat Nasional alliance will not be revived. Bersatu, whose parliamentary representation has already shrunk from 31 to roughly 19 seats following defections, faces the gravest consequences, with analysts warning it risks fading into political irrelevance without PAS's grassroots machinery. The crisis unfolds as snap state polls in Johor and Negeri Sembilan loom and Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim has signalled a possible early general election.
What's missing
The articles do not detail the specific grievances or formal demands contained in the June 6 letter from PAS secretary general Takiyuddin Hassan to Muhyiddin, which preceded the split announcement. The precise constitutional mechanisms within PN's founding documents governing how a member party can be expelled or can exit also remain unexplained.
How coverage differed
Both the South China Morning Post and Channel NewsAsia covered the story from a broadly neutral, factual standpoint. CNA provided significantly more analytical depth, quoting multiple political scientists on future alliance scenarios and Bersatu's prospects, while SCMP focused more on the immediate announcement and its electoral implications without the same level of expert commentary.
What different sources said
- Channel NewsAsiaCenter
PAS-Bersatu break-up paves way for new Malay-centric pact, with implications for Malaysia politics
- South China Morning PostCenter
Malaysia’s opposition bloc in turmoil as PAS cuts ties with Bersatu
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