By not joining the nascent Pakatan Harapan, PAS may find itself falling behind 30 years in its political development.

This is compared to where it was with the recently defunct Pakatan Rakyat coalition, said Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) chairperson Wan Abdul Rahim Wan Abdullah.

According to him, it is not impossible that PAS may lose a large number of seats it won in the last general election, if they fail to strengthen their cooperation with opposition parties that were its former allies.

"If this goes on and PAS does not take any positive action to reconcile itself with the parties in Harapan, it is not impossible that PAS will fall 30 years behind.

"Pas will repeat its history in the 1986 general elections, when it contested in 97 seats but won only one," Wan Abdul Rahim told Malaysiakini yesterday.

The former Kelantan PAS strongman said that in the 1986 GE, PAS lost its deposit in 24 parliamentary seats and 42 state seats.

"PAS lost RM230,000 in deposits. That is what awaits the party if the current scenario continues," he posited.

PAS, yesterday, announced its cooperation with the Ikatan Bangsa Malaysia (Ikatan) party, claiming to form the third political bloc, after refusing to join the newly formed Harapan.

Harapan is made up of former allies of the Islamic party, PKR and DAP, along with PAS splinter party, Amanah.

Common knowledge

Wan Abdul Rahim said Amanah welcomed any cooperation between political parties, and that it was common knowledge that no single party could win an election on its own.

"Not only PAS, Amanah or other opposition parties, but even BN, which has the largest majority of seats, have acknowledged they would not be able to administer the country alone."

"If PAS wants to form the third bloc, it may be a good move for them. May we (the opposition) get to the point that when the next GE comes, we can have one candidate from the opposition and one from BN," he said.

He added that without close cooperation between the opposition parties, PAS may not be able to retain the 15 state seats it won in Selangor, as those victories would not have happened without the support of its former Pakatan allies.

"While PAS now holds 15 state seats in Selangor, if the current climate goes on, I will not be surprised if PAS is unable to defend even one of those seats.

"This is because non-Muslim voters will find it difficult to continue supporting PAS in the current fragmented situation," explained the former Kota Bharu MP.

Totally different

Wan Abdul Rahim also lamented that PAS had reverted from the progressive developments it enjoyed before former spiritual advisor Nik Aziz Nik Mat passed away.

He believed that the Islamic party would regress further if it continued to move away from the policies of the late spiritual leader.

"We can feel a totally different situation now and how it was when Tok Guru (Nik Aziz) was active within the PAS leadership.

"It seems that PAS is no longer a Muslim congregation which is capable of handling current challenges, in the present condition society is in. This is more apparent after the 2015 Muktamar."

This was when the progressives were voted out of most party posts.

He added that this situation had disappointed the members, with PAS losing many dedicated activists who had previously helped the party to prepare for the last GE.

"The present leadership especially with their actions, speeches and attitude, which is difficult for the grassroots to accept, has caused a lot of confusion. Many find it difficult to understand PAS' new direction under the current leaders," he said.

Initially a Malay-Muslim based rural party, PAS had successfully transitioned into the mainstream politics, winning urban seats as well as in its traditional strongholds.

This was largely credited to cooperation with PKR, DAP and the liberals in the Islamic party, as well as the influence of the universally liked Nik Aziz, which had helped make it more attractive to non-Muslim voters.

Though without its former allies, Nik Aziz's stabilising influence and the progressive liberals who have left to form Amanah, pundits posit that PAS may have hard times ahead and in danger of returning to becoming the provincial Malay party that it was.