An Umno division leader does not consider the new opposition coalition Pakatan Harapan as a threat.

According to Syed Ali Alhabshee, the parties - DAP, PKR and Amanah - which are slated to ink a formal agreement on Saturday would not have an impact on Umno’s strength.

“Pakatan Harapan is just like (its predecessor) Pakatan Rakyat which disintegrated because the political ideologies of the coalition parties were not in favour of public interest,” he said.

The Cheras Umno division chief described Pakatan Harapan as a re-run of the Pakatan Rakyat episode which is dominated by DAP to dismantle the political unity of Malays.

“PKR and Amanah will be the ‘political donkeys’ in this (Pakatan Harapan) cooperation, which in the end is only beneficial to DAP,” he added in a blog post.

DAP, a predominantly Chinese entity, is often accused of attempting to challenge the position of the Malays and Islam, a charge which the opposition party’s leaders vehemently rebut.

Pakatan Harapan is the third opposition union to have emerged following the Reformasi era that followed the sacking and jailing of former deputy prime minister Anwar Ibrahim in 1998.

The previous two fell apart due to irreconcilable differences between the secular DAP and Islamic PAS over the latter’s theocratic ambitions.

In 2001, DAP had withdrawn from the first loose pact called Barisan Alternatif.

Meanwhile, Pakatan Rakyat, which made unprecedented electoral gains in the 2008 and 2013 general elections, hit a brick wall following PAS’ move to implement Islamic law in Kelantan.

DAP had accused the Islamic party president Abdul Hadi Awang of reneging on their common understanding and claimed that he was working with Umno.

Hadi and his supporters, however, argued that PAS cannot disregard its Islamic struggle, which is the purpose of its formation.

Amanah, a splinter of PAS, arose from this feud while Umno, on the other hand, is attempting to court PAS.