PAS and PKR have had a harmonious relationship at the Kelantan level over the past decade.
But, it may all come to an end soon.
Ironically, it is not the fault of the state PKR, but its leadership at the national level.
The cause of the problem is a series of ceramah by Pakatan Harapan in several districts in the state last month, which saw the PKR top brass, including secretary-general Rafizi Ramli, sharing the stage with leaders from Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah).
Although both parties are allies in Pakatan Harapan, Pas took offence at the move, as the party also has a working relationship with PKR in the state.
It officially wrote a letter to complain to Rafizi about his and other leaders’ attendance at the ceramah.
There has been no response to the letter so far.
Kelantan Pas officials said PKR was part of the state government, and so, its leaders should not sit down with Amanah speakers, when the state government had been whacked by the Pas splinter party in the ceramah.
They said supporters of both parties would get a negative picture and, at the same time, Pas members would lose faith in state PKR leaders for organising the ceramah.
As in Selangor, PKR in Kelantan has a lot to thank its more senior ally, Pas, for.
PKR has no strong base in the state, with only a few hundred registered members.
The party survives merely by the presence of several dedicated leaders.
During the polls, the number of seats the party contests in Kelantan is decided by Pas, and almost all work, including putting up posters and campaigning, is done by the latter’s machinery.
This has caused anger among Pas grassroots leaders, with one of them standing as an independent in the Guchil state seat in Kuala Krai against PKR’s Roslan Puteh in the last general election, which was won by the incumbent, Roslan.
Besides Guchil, the other seats contested by PKR in the state during the polls were the Machang and Tanah Merah parliamentary seats, and the Pengkalan Kubur and Paloh state seats, where the party’s candidates were beaten convincingly by those from Barisan Nasional.
Except for Paloh, the other seats were won by Pas in one-to-one contests against BN in previous polls.
Although it is true that there is no black-and-white agreement on the cooperation in Kelantan as claimed by some PKR leaders, they should take note of the sentiment among Pas members and the locals who vote, not only in Kelantan, but also other states.
Pas leaders in Terengganu, for example, have sounded their intention to contest all state and parliamentary seats in the next general election.
A similar move could happen in Kelantan if the leaders’ dissatisfaction with the PKR national leadership is not looked into.
Although Pas vice-president and Kelantan deputy commissioner Datuk Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah recently said the issue had not been discussed, the fact that it could happen should not be dismissed, especially given PKR’s miserable participation record in the last polls in the state.
There is a possibility that state PKR leaders tired of the party’s national leaders’ actions could quit and stand as Pas candidates.
At the same time, Amanah’s sudden change in interest to participate fully in the state’s politics seems rather strange after an earlier statement by Kelantan Amanah chairman Datuk Wan Abdul Rahim Wan Abdullah that the party would not contest in the state to ensure that BN did not recapture Kelantan.
The former Pas veteran’s about-turn could be because party president Mohamad Sabu did not agree with the idea, as the latter had stated that the party was ready to replace Pas to lead Kelantan.
That Amanah would be able to capture the state is wishful thinking.
Although the party claims that its membership has reached 100,000, with half being in Kelantan, only a fraction are from Pas.
Most of the new members, it is believed, are from Muslim non-governmental organisations, like Angkatan Belia Islam Malaysia and Ikram, who were not associated with political parties previously.
They are concentrated in Kota Baru, and Amanah will find it hard to put up 23 candidates, the minimum number of seats needed to form a new state government — to win.
Sulaiman Jaafar, a grandfather, adores children and loves travelling, both locally and abroad