“At the national level, it’ll also give a clear signal that BN’s prospects of winning the next general election are very bright.”

– Najib Abdul Razak

COMMENT | Umno is all about the middle ground in Johor. For a legacy race-based party which for decades (with its partners) enjoyed populist support, this going back to basics, after a brief sojourn with PAS and the rest of the Sheraton traitors, ominously heralds a return to the kind of “political stability” that defined Malaysian politics for decades.

Johor Umno deputy chief Nur Jazlan Mohamed taking his shots at PAS claimed that the Islamic party is bereft of ideas and all they talk about is polygamy and promoting ridiculous practices like saying husbands can beat their wives “lightly”.

All this sounds like old times. Retired journalists have been sending me newspaper clippings of decades-old Umno attacks against PAS that use the same kind of rhetoric.

Indeed PAS causes more problems for Perikatan...