PETALING JAYA: After decades of animosity, the ground has started to slowly shift for Umno’s rank-and-file when it comes to seeing Pakatan Harapan as a partner instead of rival.

Now that their top leaders have worked together for two years in the unity government, some Umno branch leaders and members say their events are now attended by members of DAP, PKR and Amanah from Pakatan.

However, other branch leaders say that they have almost no contact with their local Pakatan counterparts, reflecting the depth of distrust that still needs to be bridged if these two coalitions are to work effectively together in the 16th General Election.

The first year of the unity government was tough for the grassroots, said a Melaka Umno branch leader Sanibin Ali.

He described how the two coalitions mostly avoided each other.

“But after we started doing joint programmes such as during last Hari Raya Aidiladha as well as gotong-royong, we managed to get to know each other better,” said the Datuk Kuala Taman Melaka Baru Umno branch chief.

“The Kota Melaka MP and the state exco under DAP also came to support our programmes,” said Sanibin, whose branch is under the Kota Melaka parliamentary constituency.

“If there are any grouses at the local level, they will also help our party members. It is not hard to ask for help from them,” he said.

Going into 2025, he said there will be more joint programmes not only during the upcoming fasting month but also during Hari Raya Aidilfitri.

“The organisers will ensure all parties will attend.

“There is no problem for us to mingle around. Those from DAP, PKR or Amanah, all are welcome,” he said.

The unity government marked its second anniversary on Nov 23 this year.

Although Pakatan and Barisan Nasional’s top leaders have expressed their intention of working together in GE16, analysts have pointed out that grassroots leaders and members, especially from Umno, are still wary of the alliance at this juncture.

“Each party has its own ‘areas’ to take care of, but everyone is always welcome,” said Muhammad Noor Azman, an Umno branch chief in Meru, Selangor, when referring to local PKR, Amanah and DAP leaders.

“When we host programmes, we’ll invite them and they will usually attend and we do the same for their events.

“The presence of leaders from each party shows ‘perpaduan’ (unity) at these programmes,” said Muhammad Noor, who is Kampung Haji Mohd Shariff Umno branch chief.

However, he feels that it will take more time for ordinary Umno members to fully accept Pakatan as an ally.

“They are still getting to know one another.

“It will take a bit of time for them to understand and accept each other.

“But between the grassroots, the situation is much better than it was in 2022,” he said.

As Meru is a predominantly Malay-majority area, their collaborations mostly involved PKR and Amanah members.

“Nonetheless, we still share a very good relationship with the head of Kapar DAP,” added Muhammad.

The situation was different in the Federal Territories, with Federal Territories (Kuala Lumpur) Umno information chief Ghulam Muzaffar Ghulam Mustakim saying that relations with Pakatan felt as if “we are not part of the unity government”.

“At times, in terms of distribution of political positions, Umno is not involved.

“Until today, we do not have a joint secretariat to plan programmes together at the grassroots level.

“We cannot wait until the election is near to show that we can work together.

“We hope that we can be involved in policy matters as well so we can work together.

“In terms of cooperation, I think we need a joint secretariat, so we can explain to the people our common manifesto, then only we can work better at the grassroots level.

“There should be some sincerity if we want to work as a strong team,” said Ghulam Muzaffar.

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2024/12/27/umno-pakatan-animosity-thawing-but-rift-still-remains